


SATVIUS ACADEMY 2: The World Of Penance

by ScifiRice



Series: Satvius Academy [2]
Category: Satvius Academy
Genre: Boarding School, Heist, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Religious Themes, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22689928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScifiRice/pseuds/ScifiRice
Summary: One year after the events of the first Satvius Academy story. Arno is blackmailed into committing one of the greatest crimes ever known.
Series: Satvius Academy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533755





	1. Bar Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno and his good friend Kassadia make small talk.

It’s my second year at Satvius Academy. It’s nine PM on a Thursday, I’m sitting at the boardwalk’s famous establishment Sal’s Seaside Bar. Having a drink with my good friend Kassadia Fleur. We’re sitting in a booth with a plate of nachos resting between us on the table. We’re about halfway done with them.

Kassadia is one of the only other hybrids at Satvius Academy I have seen. While I have no doubt a good percentage of students here are also hybrids, Kassadia is one of the few that show it on the outside. Granted she shows it to a lesser extent than me. She’s not dragging a mismatched tail behind her like I am. She’s an aardwolf with the fur color and pattern of a panda bear.

“So Arno. What was that statistic on hybrids again?” Kassadia said to me.

I explain to her when two people of greatly differing species have a child, 80% of the time the kid will end up looking entirely like one of the parents. Their mannerisms may reflect the other one, but biologically they are mostly one species. 15% of the time, you end up with someone like Kassadia. The resemblance to the other parent mostly being cosmetic, usually fur color or maybe body type. She is awfully large for an aardwolf anyway.

But five percent of the time. You get someone like me, a coyote with the eyes and tail of a rattlesnake. Only other hybrid I ever met was this one person I occasionally saw walking around last year. A rabbit with deer antlers. They were a fifth-year student so they are long gone by now. Never really got to interact with them.

We never really suffered from any kind of harassment or discrimination regarding our hybrid biology. Though occasionally I have experienced some inconvenience from it. For example, I’ve had to be checked for having venomous fangs multiple times. I don’t even have venom glands, I don’t think so anyway. Only those with really dangerous bodies get discriminated against. Like those rare cases in amphibians where they develop skin that secretes powerful toxins. I think there is even a system to find out the likelihood of two amphibians making a kid like that so it can be avoided, but I’m not one so I never looked into it.

“Wait a minute…. If we hypothetically had a kid. Would they be hybridized from our parents, or would it treat us both as a separate species. So a normal hybrid would come out looking exactly like me or you?” Kassadia said before grabbing a bite from the plate.  
“Huh…. That’s a good question. I honestly never looked into that.” I said.  
“Yeah! What’s the cutoff point? Could I have a kid and they end up being whatever species my grandfather is but not me or my husband?” she said.  
“I never looked into genetics much. So I really have no idea. Nor can I think of an ethical way to test it.” I said.  
“Tell ya what. If Connor and I have a kid and they come out weird, we’ll let you know.” Kassadia said with a smile.  
“I’d appreciate it.” I said with a tinge of sarcasm.

Connor is Kassadia’s fiancé. Just like me and Marwha, she is arranged to marry someone as well. Unlike me and Marwha, she has no issue with it because she and Connor are basically soulmates. I can’t blame her, he’s a pretty nice guy regardless.

Right now, Marwha is trying to study for a test in the one class we don’t have together. So she asked me to leave the dorm for a few hours. I don’t know what Connor is doing, but Kassadia said something about helping a friend of his. So for right now it’s just the two of us.

“Hey Arno, I’ve been wondering. How the hell does your blessing work?” Kassadia said, clearly a bit tipsy.  
“What do you mean. You know how.” I said.  
“No but. Shouldn’t it just make you invisible but not your clothes?” she said.  
“Well. I basically create this aura a few inches around my body. Anything inside it before getting activated is hidden. If I were to use it and pick something up after, the thing would look like its floating in the air. The aura extends enough to get my clothing, so that’s why it gets hidden too.” I said.  
“Oooh! That’s how it works. I thought it was something different. You’re lucky to have a power like that. Simple but damn cool. Your family has anything like it?” she said.  
“My brothers have blessings all about messing with senses. Amplifying or interfering with them, making you sense things that aren’t there, that sort of thing. It’s all from my mom’s side.” I said.  
“What about your dad?” she said.  
“My dad’s blessing lets him detect whenever someone is aware of him. If you were looking at him through a telescope miles away, he would know.” I said.  
“Kinda weird, but still neat. Any of his family have weird blessings like that?” she said.  
“I have no idea. He emancipated himself from his family a very long time ago. Hasn’t spoken to them or even talked about them since. Said it was over some disagreement they had.” I said.  
“Dang. Must have been serious.” She said.  
“Probably was if it caused that to happen.” I said.

My dad never mentioned his family. Not even to my mom. She met him about ten years after that happened, so she wouldn’t have had a clue about them. He even took her last name when they married, something people rarely do nowadays. 

“While we’re talking about family. What about you my dude? Your birthday is tomorrow. They sending you anything?” she said.  
“They have something in the mail. No idea what. But it’s coming.” I said.  
“Well we got your present all ready to go tomorrow. A neat way to pick off this four day weekend.” She said.  
“Yeah. It is. I’m still wondering what you and Marwha got me.” I said.  
“Just wait and see.” She said with a smile.

Tomorrow is my 20th birthday. I’d like to spend it at home, but the train I normally take broke down a day ago. There’s no way I can get home and back in time without riding it. I’m upset I can’t spend some time with my family, but my mom said they will make it up to me next time I'm home. There’s another long weekend in a few weeks at least. 

We finish our food and our drinks. It’s about time for us to be heading back. We step out into the night lit up by the blood-red moon overhead. We pass by various people and students on our way through the town and to the academy. As it comes into view, I remember the incident that happened last year.

Marwha was targeted by a cult, the leader of which was one of the five deacons that run the academy. I helped get the Keepers Of Providence in to stop them. The whole thing ended with several people dead and the cult arrested for heresy. Marwha’s identity was kept secret from the public, but word soon got out about what happened at the academy. 

There was a huge investigation into this cult, nearly all members were identified and all their previous victims were as well. Students, tourists, sailors, anyone that had what they wanted went missing. It was a PR nightmare for the school and the town. Even now, the freshman year class is the smallest it has ever been. It will be a long time before the school recovers from this.

But me and Marwha won’t forget what we saw. I still remember what happened that day. I had found records of the cult’s activity in the deacon’s room and photographed the evidence. I texted Marwha the news and she frantically told me to send it because they had found her out. All it took for me was to send an anonymous tip to the Keepers Of Providence. The K.o.P. were made to stop stuff like this. It didn’t take long for them to respond and for me to tell them more.

I kept my blessing active as I conversed with them. Moving around to further improve my chances of staying hidden. The evidence I submitted was enough to warrant an immediate response from them. I only wished the storm wasn’t happening so they could have moved in quicker. 

I wanted to text or call Marwha. Find out if she was okay. But the ringtone or even the sound of the vibration could have exposed whatever hiding spot she was in. So I kept watch in the cathedral area where she said she would be taken if they caught her.

Soon enough, I saw them drag her in. She was unconscious, someone used a blessing to make her fall asleep. I wanted to do something, but there were dozens of them and I could barely take on a single person. I tried to wait for some kind of opening, but somehow she got free anyway. She ran towards the exit, I ran behind her. I thought maybe I could reveal myself and give her help once we got away from them. 

Then I got hit with some kind of electrical shock I accidentally ran in front of. I became visible again as I collapsed onto the ground twitching and in pain. I couldn’t see Marwha since my paralyzed head landed facing away from her. But I heard her get away. Next thing I knew, I was tied up and put into a small room to the side with someone watching guard over me. They intended to use me as leverage against Marwha. Afraid I was going to escape, they had the one with the sleep inducing blessing knock me out. 

I woke up to the sound of people yelling and a few gunshots. A K.o.P. officer quickly found me and got me untied. After a medic quickly looked me over to make sure I wasn’t injured, I was brought to see Marwha. I never told my parents about any of that happening to me. I didn’t want them to worry any more than they did. 

I don’t resent Marwha for running away after I got hit. I understand it was unintentional, but I also knew I was in no danger to suffer what they had planned for her. Despite me admitting this, she has felt determined to make it up to me. Even though what she went through was undoubtedly worse.

We arrive at our dormitory building. The same one we were in last year, same room too. According to Achal, you only get moved into a new room when you’re a senior. Wonder what those dorms are like. 

We pass through the common area, getting an occasional glance from one of the people sitting there on their phone. Normally we have no issue with taking the stairs. But we’re both a bit tipsy and tired, so we take the elevator. It’s only to the third floor though.

We pass by Kassadia’s room. She tells me to sleep well as she inserts her key and opens the door. I see Connor inside, the short grey squirrel waves at me silently. I wave back before heading down the hall. About four doors down, I arrive at my room. 

I open the door to see Marwha typing on a laptop. She’s in her pajamas. Judging by her wet fur, she also just got out of the shower. She’s recovered from her concussion. Physically at least, no idea how she is handling it mentally. I tend not to ask her about it since that whole day of her life is just a subject no part of her wants to discuss.

“Hey there. Got something planned for you tomorrow. Me and Kassadia collaborated on it.” She said.  
“Don’t suppose I could get a hint as to what it is?” I said.  
“Not a chance.” She said with a smile.


	2. Birthday Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno celebrates his birthday.

It’s my birthday. This day marks my twentieth year living this life. The day so far was pleasant. Kassadia had us get in her car and drive a few towns over. We stopped by this one fast food place on the way there, it’s a place I love but this is the closest one to the academy and they aren’t in the area where I live. 

As it turns out, Marwha wasn’t studying last night. She was securing me tickets to go see a movie I had been very much looking forward to. One that was only playing in select theaters. I thought I would have to wait until I got home to go see it. Instead I got to see it on the opening day. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve friends like Marwha and Kassadia. 

“Well. That was good.” Kassadia said as we walked out of the theater.  
“Well Arno. Was it worth the drive?” Marwha said as she stretched after sitting for so long.  
“Absolutely. I was worried I would have to avoid spoilers until I could make it home. I almost was going to find a pirated version online just so I could see it early.” I said as we walked into the parking lot, it’s late afternoon and raining rather hard.  
“Something that can’t be done justice on a computer screen. You deserved to see it first in a theater.” Marwha said.

Then, Marwha’s phone began to ring. She fished it out of her pocket and saw that Achal had been trying to reach her for a while. She answers and tries to explain that she just went out with Kassadia to see a movie. She’s trying to avoid letting him know she’s with me. Even though we have the deacons trying to get our marriage stopped, it’s a slow process. Besides, she doesn’t want to tell Achal about us yet. According to Marwha, Achal will tell their parents and that is a whole ordeal she would want to avoid. I wonder why, Marwha doesn’t mention her parents much so I haven’t the faintest clue.

Seeing her makes me think to check my phone for any messages I missed. Those theaters barely let a trace of a signal get through, so I could have easily missed something. I reach down to grab my phone from my pocket, but it’s not there. I reach into my other pocket, it’s not there either. 

Oh shit, did I drop it? I had it out before the movie started, did I put it in the pocket sloppy and it fell out? I quickly pat myself down and confirm my phone is not on me at all. I have to head back inside, maybe it’s still at my seat! But I feel someone tap me on the shoulder. I turn around to see a magpie dressed in rather plain clothes. In his talons is my phone. 

“Think you dropped this.” He said.  
“Oh wow! You just saved me from having to root through a dark theater. Thank you sir.” I said as I take the phone from him, my fingers briefly touching his talons.  
“No problem.” He said as he walked away.

Well, that crisis was averted. I look at my phone and see it is already unlocked. Did I forget to lock it when I put it away? Or did that guy unlock it? If he wanted to break into the phone, he clearly wouldn’t have given it back to me. I don’t have any important information on my phone either, so he wouldn’t have had anything to gain from it regardless. Whatever, my phone is back and that’s what matters. Marwha gets off the phone, Kassadia runs out to the parking lot to fetch her car and come get us so we don’t have to get drenched.

“I love him and all. But Achal has gotten really protective lately.” Marwha said.  
“Well you nearly died three separate times last year.” I said.  
“Fair point. But two of those weren’t my fault.” She said.  
“Well don’t give him a hard time. I’d be the same if it happened to my brothers.” I said.  
“You really would?” She said.  
“They’re half of the only family I got. 90% of my mom’s family is so far away I barely know any of them. And I told you about my dad, no idea what his side is like.” I said.  
“Yeah I get it. But Achal and Lauma have always been protective of me. Though in different ways.” Marwha said.  
“How so?” I said.  
“Well for one, Lauma does not like you at all.” She said.  
“What? I’ve never even met her!” I said.  
“It’s cause of the marriage. Just like with Achal, she only hears about this façade we put on. She never went to Satvius Academy and hates the whole arranged marriage thing they do. If only she found out about it before I went.” She said.  
“Would you have really passed up going to Satvius if you knew about it?” I said.  
“Maybe…. But also maybe not. I would have acted like I was totally lesbian to get out of any marriage if I knew I could do that beforehand.” She said.  
“Then you would have probably been stuck as roommates with Tamara.” I said.  
“Ugh. That alone would have made it not worth the effort.” Marwha said as Kassadia pulled up in her car.

We both rush to get inside. Even from the few feet we ran in the rain we both get rather soaked. I buckle myself into the passenger seat and notice Kassadia is far wetter than both of us since she had to run out to the parking lot first. I also notice she has taken off her shirt and tossed it in the back seat before driving over here. A bit awkward, but I can understand why she didn’t want to drive all the way back in a soaked shirt. At least she kept her pants on. Without her shirt I can certainly see she is in fact just a large aardwolf with the fur coat of a panda. Now I think of Kassadia as a purely platonic friend. But I can certainly tell why Connor is in love with her.

Kassadia has the heat turned on to help dry us off. We have a bit of a drive home, so I get comfortable. But just as I do that, my phone rings. I look at the number and it’s my family. I tell them my family is calling so I’m going to have some privacy. They both look away and I activate my blessing.

The world gets weird whenever I activate my blessing. My vision gets a blue tint to it, my fur stands on end, and touching anything but myself feels strange. Fortunately in this state, I can talk over the phone and while the person on the other end can hear me, no one around me can hear a word. It’s useful for situations like this. 

“Hello?” I said as I answer the phone.  
“Hey Arno, How you doing?” my mother said.  
“Hey mom. I’m doing fine. Just saw a movie with my friends. We’re driving back now.” I said.  
“That one you’ve been wanting to see?” she said.  
“Yeah, we found a theatre out of town we drove to.” I said.  
“I thought the school didn’t want students leaving Crocus without permission?” she said.  
“That was abolished after they found out the deacon who got arrested last year made that rule.” I said.  
“Ah, makes sense. So anyway, I called because of something going on with your father.” She said.  
“What’s wrong?” I said.  
“He’s been worried lately. I think he said he saw a member of his family in town recently. He still won’t tell me what happened between them, but I’ve never seen him this anxious.” She said.  
“That doesn’t sound good.” I said.  
“He asked me to tell you to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. He claims they still have plenty of resentment between him and them, and they may try to get to him through you.” She said.  
“What do you mean?” I said.  
“He was vague on what it meant but he seemed confident it wasn’t in a violent way. But he also believes you should be fine with your blessing and all. If something does come up, please stay safe.” She said.  
“Okay. I will. Thanks for the heads up.” I said.

We arrive back at Satvius Academy later that day. We are all wearing more casual clothes since we were going out of town. But since we are back on campus, we all put on our maroon Satvius Academy coat over our casual clothes. All three of us walk into the dormitory building to return to our rooms. Nicolo the bald eagle is sitting in the lobby with his fiancé Lalia, even with my blessing I still don’t want to get on the bad side of that black bear he somehow loves. They’re both sitting on a couch watching some kind of sports game on the TV with a crowd of other students nearby. Nicolo spots Marwha and they both glare at each other, but we walk by without exchanging a word. 

Last year right after the cult fiasco. Nicolo harassed Marwha again and she snapped. Normally she’s calm enough to take whatever insults he has without getting violent. But the combined stress of his harassment and what she went through recently was enough to make her strike back. 

If it weren’t for his blessing that hardened his bones, she would have seriously injured him. But he got away with only some large bruises. Even though it was a surprise attack, he can’t stand that Marwha managed to do that. Normally he would have tried to settle this through the sparring arena. But the staff at the academy have been blocking all his attempts to fight her after the incident. Marwha only got away with the attack because she was in a position to seek legal action against the school at the time. So they managed to convince Nicolo to stand down. 

Right now it’s at a standoff. Nicolo is waiting for some opportunity he is allowed to get revenge. But he knows Marwha has the capability to actually be a tough fight. So he is trying to be more careful about how he will do it. I’m just glad I’m not involved in this conflict directly. 

Kassadia’s room is on the way to mine. We arrive there and she opens the door to see her fiancé Connor on a computer. I honestly wouldn’t have minded if Connor came with us to the theater. But I don’t exactly know him all that well and he had stuff he needed to work on. I thank her again for driving us before leaving the two alone.

A short walk and we arrive at our dorm. We take off our coats and let them fall to the floor. We can’t get in trouble for not abiding by the dress code inside our own dorms. Why do these schools even have this dress code? The other major schools have similar robes from what I’ve seen. It can’t be a religious thing either because even the irreligious school has them. Maybe I’ll look this up online later….

“Thanks again for doing this for me.” I said after I sit down on the couch against the wall.  
“I understand you would have rather spent it with your family, but I tried to do the next best thing.” She said with a smile.  
“Heh. It’s easy to forget how nice you can be when we’re constantly pretend-hating each other.” I said.  
“Oh gods I know, I wish those people would hurry up and break off our marriage already so I can stop doing that.” Marwha said.  
“It’s a shame we didn’t meet under different circumstances.” I said.  
“Considering where we each live, this place is the only way we would have met.” She said.  
“True…. So, Achal is getting married when he graduates next year?” I said.  
“He doesn’t mind it one bit. But she’s nice enough for me to see why he doesn’t mind being with her.” She said.  
“What about your older sister Lauma?” I said.  
“She is skeptical about this school ever since I started going here.” She said.  
“Couldn’t she have gone here too since she’s part of your family and all?” I said.  
“No. She’s the daughter of my mom’s best friend. She died when Lauma was five years old and she had no other family to go to. So my mom adopted her. Since she’s not a blood relative, she can’t get into the academy as easily as me and Achal did since our parents are alumni.” She said.  
“Did she want to go?” I said.  
“I don’t really know. She was very into computers when she was growing up, so much so that she got a really good job offer after high school. She never really needed to go to college.” She said.  
“Wow, lucky her. Meanwhile I’m here dreading the thought of my brothers going to Satvius. I’m the first in my family to go here since we are a Sophist Diogen worshipping family.” I said.  
“Your family didn’t have any objections to you coming here?” she said.  
“Even before, none of them got into a school as prestigious as this. Even if it’s not the pantheon we worship, it was too good to pass up.” I said.  
“And if you graduate, that means your brothers can easily get in here too.” She said.  
“Where they will be arranged to marry some random girl just like me. I’m still looking for a good opportunity to tell them.” I said.  
“You know what? Forget it. Today is your damn day and those thoughts need to be saved for some other time!” Marwha said as she stands up and walks over to the fridge in the corner.

I realize she’s right. My brothers coming here is an issue I need to figure out. But that’s four years away from being relevant, I can stand to hold it off for today. I shake my head to make myself focus, now isn’t the time for sulking. 

I turn around and see Marwha holding a rather delicious looking cake. She claims my family had it delivered here a day ago. I’m going to have to find a way to repay them after this. They are just too kind. If only I could share this cake with them.

Marwha says we’ll invite our friends over after dinner and have some cake here. She puts it on the counter until then. Sweets are a bit of a weakness of mine. So I’ll have to fight the temptation to have some before then. Which isn’t a bad problem to have honestly.


	3. Blackmailing Bastards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A secret is uncovered that threatens Marwha's life. And only Arno can prevent it from getting out.

The day after my birthday always feels odd. I always expect something to have changed in my life. But the day ends up being no different than every other day of the year. This day is no exception. However, there is one thing out of place.

I’ve had a strange feeling all day, it feels like I’m being watched. And not in a general paranoia kind of way. My blessing doesn’t work if someone has their attention focused on me. I can sort of sense whenever someone is doing that, a trait carried over from my dad’s blessing. 

Mom told me about dad’s family possibly looking for me. Well I doubt they could do anything here. Satvius increased its security this year. If anyone tries anything they’ll find it very difficult. Besides, I can just use my blessing if I want to go off campus. Even if someone is spying on me, all it takes is a moment of interrupted sight and I’m gone. 

I’m in my dorm at the moment. Marwha is playing some game on the console as she sits on the couch. I’m sitting at a stool by the kitchen counter. Trying to wonder if the weird feeling is just a bout of paranoia. Well, there is only one way to find out. 

Marwha isn’t looking. I activate my blessing. I shouldn’t be able to do that if someone were spying on me. I let out a sigh of relief, I guess I was just imagining it….

“Hello Arno.” A voice said behind me.

My heart skips a beat and I turn around as quick as I can. Standing behind the counter is the magpie from yesterday. I jump out of my chair upon noticing him. How is he here? And why isn’t he tinted blue like everything else in the world when my blessing is active?

“Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” I said, trying to sound threatening.  
“This is a very interesting blessing you have. It’s a shame I won’t be able to copy it forever. But enough about how I'm here. Let’s talk about why I'm here.” He said.  
“Go away! I’m not dealing with this shit whoever you are.” I said.  
“You don’t know who I am?” he said.  
“No. Why should…. Wait. You know my name.” I said.  
“To be fair, this is the first time we have actually met, well formally at least. But I know your father.” He said.  
“How do you know my name?” I demanded.  
“Well we finally found where your father went. From there it was easy to find where his oldest kid was and learn a good amount about him.” He said.  
“You’re from my father’s family aren’t you?” I said.  
“What makes you say that?” he said.  
“My dad is a reserved person. He doesn’t interact with many people outside of our family. I can’t see how he would have met you any other way.” I said.  
“Good deduction. Though you can probably guess I’m not a blood relative. We were a family metaphorically, so to speak. My parents and his parents and all the ancestors behind them. We have all been together until he left.” He said.  
“He probably had a good reason if you’re the kind of people he had to deal with.” I said.  
“Let’s say he left a rather bitter taste in our mouths when he made his exit.” He said.  
“Okay, but that doesn’t answer my original question. Why are you here?” I said.  
“The family needs help. You’re the only one we know who can help us. And you are going to help.” He said.  
“No, I’m not agreeing to anything with you. I trust my dad and him never speaking a word about you people is enough proof I need to not trust you.” I said.  
“I told them it would come to this. Listen here Arno. If you don’t help us, we’re going to expose something your friend beside me did.” He said as he motioned towards Marwha.  
“What could she have possibly done?” I said.  
“An act of heresy on the very top of the list. The kind that would get her a death sentence if the Keepers Of Providence found out.” He said.  
“She isn’t capable of something like that! How could you possibly know anyway?” I said.  
“One of the family members is real good at finding out this sort of thing. Ask her yourself if you think I’m lying. You have until this time tomorrow to accept our deal. And don’t try to tell anyone about this because I’ll be nearby thanks to your blessing. So I’ll know.” He said with a smile.

I turn my blessing off. The magpie is gone, my sudden appearance draws Marwha’s attention. She notices I look distressed and asks what’s wrong. I make up an excuse, saying I got a message that my brother broke his arm today and I’m upset I can’t be there with him. She understands and doesn’t ask further.

The next few minutes are eerily quiet. I find myself glancing over at Marwha, who is distracted with her game. She’s guilty of what is probably a rank 8 heresy to warrant that kind of punishment. The cult at the school last year was literally trying to tamper with the Grand Designer’s plan and that was only a rank 6 heresy. What could she have possibly done?

I mull over this question constantly in my head. If I can just prove she’s innocent, that shitheel can’t blackmail me. Who the hell was my dad’s family? Why was he with a bunch of thugs?

I shake my head to get myself to focus. I need to figure out if their blackmail attempt has any weight to it. I tell Marwha I need to speak to her in private. She asks why, I just tell her it’s important. I suggest we go to the beach. Not many people should be there today since it was raining for most of the day. Also it’s open enough for us to spot any potential eavesdroppers. Marwha pauses her game and agrees to head out with me.

The town of Crocus is the same as it ever was. Only difference being much of the prominent community figures are gone since they were arrested for being part of that cult that tried to kidnap Marwha. The town has always felt a bit emptier since they left. But they were evil so good riddance.

We walk onto the beach. There is barely anyone here as I predicted. We find a spot near the water, I look around to make sure there is no one nearby. Then I turn to Marwha.

“What is it you want to say?” she said.  
“I have recently come across some troubling accusations about you.” I said.  
“Oh gods, has Nicolo been talking shit about me again?” she said.  
“No, nothing like that. Something about you committing a…. rank 8 heresy?” I said nervously.  
“What!? Why would I do that!? I’ll admit I’m not totally in love with the Grand Design, but I’d never do anything like that!” she said, obviously startled at the accusation.  
“Keep your voice down! Listen Marwha, someone is trying to blackmail me. I can’t say who or why, but they are serious about it. They are using you to get to me.” I said.  
“Why me?” she said.  
“I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t really have anything you could seriously blackmail me with. But regardless. It doesn’t feel right to have you suffer because they wanted to get to me.” I said.  
“Oh shit.” She said.  
“Yeah! So please Marwha. Did you do anything that could qualify as a rank 8 heresy?” I said.  
“Oh gods. I…. I believe I did. I didn’t want to and didn’t plan to, but it happened.” she said with an ashamed look.  
“What!? What could you have possibly done?” I said.  
“I talked to and was a tool used by The Grey Elder.” She said trying to avert her gaze from me.

My heart nearly skips a beat. The Grey Elder, the most evil being in history. The ungodly horror that brings disaster in its wake with power second to that of the gods themselves. The agent of evil that is feared by all who stand on this planet. And she worked with it!?

“Oh my gods. How? Why?” I said.  
“It wasn’t my choice! It was during that whole cult fiasco last year. It apparently was using me to get to the cult, it planted the Trojan in the meteorite that caused the whole thing. Apparently it was helping out The Grand Designer by doing it. I was just the best candidate to be used to draw out the cult.” She said.  
“But did you know about this?” I said.  
“It spoke to me twice. Once it appeared to me during The Pugna. The second time it happened the day after the cult was stopped. First time it said it had plans for me. Second time it congratulated me on doing a good job. I haven’t heard or seen anything else since.” Marwha said.  
“Oh no. They were right. They’ll report this to the K.o.P. if I don’t answer their demands.” I said.  
“They execute anyone who willingly worked with it. I’d be done for if they found out. That’s why I never told anyone.” Marwha said.

I can’t think of a response. I just stand there in shock. The Grey Elder used her for a good cause and was working with The Grand Designer to do it!? This is unprecedented, The Grey Elder doesn’t help people. If it was doing anything in our town, it should have resulted in most of the people in it ending up dead. 

But the K.o.P. wouldn’t listen to that, no sensible person would! You can’t just convince a random person that the ultimate evil does good for the world too. I trust Marwha, she wouldn’t lie about something like this. Dammit, I can’t let her be killed because of something I did. 

“Arno?” Marwha said.  
“Sorry, this is…. Oh gods, I’ll have to work with them now….” I said.  
“With who?” Marwha said.  
“They warned me if I told anyone, your secret gets reported to the K.o.P. I’m sorry Marwha. I truly am. But if I had any other option, I would take it.” I said.  
“Well. Is there anything I can do?” She said.  
“I don’t think you can without endangering yourself even more. I don’t know what they want me to do. But I’ll have to go do it. Please, keep everyone else distracted. Make up some excuse I had to go visit family or something.” I said as I turn around.  
“Arno wait!” Marwha said before involuntarily blinking. 

Just like that, I’m gone from her view. I walk away from her and see the magpie sitting on a bench nearby, staring at me while also hidden from everyone in the world except me. I walk up to him, he has a smug smile on his face. A smile I want nothing more than to smack right off his face.

“What do I have to do?” I said.  
“First. I need to introduce you to the rest of the family.” He said as he motions me to follow him.

I’m not a violent person by nature. I rarely lash out at anyone, unlike Marwha who at times can seem like she’s bottled up every ounce of aggression she has felt only for it to release in intense bursts. I only get violent when retaliating or when I'm threatened. A trait carried over from my mother. 

But right now. Having to follow this guy around, I have never felt such anger. They’re threatening my friend’s life, they’re willing to let an innocent girl suffer just because I wasn’t willing to cooperate. I can guess why my dad left them. He probably despised the people who would resort to this to get what they want.

What’s with this magpie guy anyway? Did he find out I live here, follow me to the movie theatre, and steal my phone just to hand it back to me? Maybe it had something to do with his blessing, he had to do something to be able to copy mine. He’s probably already mastered it since it’s just something you turn on or off. But even then, he knew what my blessing was considering how he has been using it. How did he know how it works? I need to get some answers from this guy now.

“Hey. How do you know so much about me. I understand we’re metaphorically family, but you know a lot.” I said.  
“We’ve actually been keeping an eye on you for a while. We needed to get our plan set up first though. What we know isn’t anything that’s not on record at the academy. Even if we had to obtain that information without them knowing.” He said.  
“Did you keep an eye on my family too?” I said.  
“If you’re worried about them, then don’t be. Yes your dad left us on a sour note, but it’s not so sour we’re going to hurt him or his family.” He said.  
“Then what about me?” I said.  
“You’re too important to the plan to ignore.” He said.  
“And what the hell is this plan where you need a 20-year old college student to do it!?” I said.  
“Your blessing is what we need. I can’t just borrow yours for it either. My blessing doesn’t work like that. You’ll hear the plan once we meet the rest of the family.” He said.  
“Well…. Can you at least tell me your name?” I said.  
“The only name I have that you can hear is Xerxes.” He said.  
“Fine then Xerxes. Let’s get this over with so we can never see eachother again.” I said.


	4. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno meets with his father's estranged "family"

We arrive at where my apparent “family” resides. A cargo barge docked in the harbor. Xerxes claims they live here and use it to get around. The task they need me for is further down the coast so they will depart when I get on. This whole thing is shifty as hell, but I board the ship regardless. He tells me to turn off my blessing, I do and so does he.

The barge has a bunch of those metal storage containers on it. Upon getting a closer look, I notice they are all welded together. Xerxes opens one of the containers and tells me to go inside. When I walk in, I see the stack of containers is merely a shell concealing a large room where the rest of his family resides. Inside is a lounge area with couches, a small kitchen, a workshop area, and a rather expensive looking computer setup in a corner.

I count at least seven others. A raccoon soldering something at a bench. A cormorant waking up from a nap on a couch. A toad finishing off a bottle of beer. A lioness turning her attention away from a computer. A dingo eating takeout food. A buffalo inspecting equipment of some kind. And a seagull sneaking food from a plate in front of the now waking up cormorant.

“Oh shit. Xerxes actually got him!” the lioness said as she stood up from the computer.  
“Yes everyone. We have the final piece of the puzzle.” Xerxes said as he puts his hands on my shoulders.  
“Did you have to use blackmail?” the cormorant said as he groggily sits upright.  
“Yes. Thank you for that info by the way. Because of you, we finally can feel like a whole family again!” Xerxes said.  
“Well not yet. That’s why we brought him.” The toad said in a deadpan tone.  
“The hell do you mean?” I said.  
“Tell me what you see with those slitted eyes of yours. How many of us are there?” Xerxes said.  
“Eight counting you.” I said.  
“Your dad would be the ninth person in our group if he had stayed. But you can fill his spot. We need you to help get our tenth member back!” Xerxes said.  
“Wait. What the hell is all this anyway!? As far as I can tell, you’re all just some nomadic vagrants. But this place has all this equipment in it, what do you need this for!?” I said as I swat his hands away and stare him in the eyes.  
“We’re thieves, mercenaries, a gang, whatever word they are using for us nowadays.” The dingo said in a gruff voice.  
“We’ve been assisting criminal organizations for generations. But we haven’t been doing well lately because we have been short-handed so to speak.” Xerxes said.

The dingo stands up and walks over to me. He’s easily a head taller than me and has much more muscle than I do. I’ll admit, I’m scrawny. I probably couldn’t win in a fight with anyone here.

I notice the dingo is wearing a hoodie and has something in the hoodie’s pocket. From the basic shape of it and the fact these people are the definition of shifty, I imagine it’s a pocketknife of some kind. He leans down to stare at me on eye-level. Not a hint of emotion on his face at all.

“Yeah. You’re definitely his kid. Even with the parts that don’t match, you still look like him at your age.” The dingo said.  
“I don’t care.” I said.  
“Listen fella. I understand you really don’t want to be here. But know that we wouldn’t have re-opened this wound your father gave us if we had another option. I understand why he left. HE could have handled it better, but I don’t resent him for it.” The dingo said.  
“And what was that reason?” I said.  
“Like I said, I'm not revisiting that day. Go ask someone else.” He said as he stood back to his full height.  
“I’ll get the boat running.” The toad said as she walked through a door on the wall.  
“Where should I put him?” Xerxes said.  
“Set him down on the couch with Inachos and Apis. And Apis, if he tries to leave the lounge. Break something of his.” The dingo said.  
“Anything specific?” the cormorant said.  
“Just make sure he can still walk.” The dingo said as he walked over to the lioness at her computer.

Xerxes leads me over to the couch. The seagull grabs my arm and pulls me down to take a seat in-between them and the cormorant. The seagull is shorter than me and wearing a yellow tank-top with jeans. The cormorant is wearing a salmon colored long-sleeved shirt with khaki pants. The seagull is looking at me uncomfortably close with an almost childlike curiosity.

“Inachos, don’t lean in so close.” The cormorant said, I'm assuming he is Apis.  
“But look at him! He’s got those weird eyes and tail!” Inachos said as she pokes at the rattle on the end of my tail.  
“Sorry about him. He hasn’t encountered many hybrids before.” Apis said.  
“How old are you anyway?” I said to Inachos.  
“Fourteen.” Inachos said cheerfully.  
“Hey! Remember what I said about telling him things? Don’t give out personal information like that so easily.” Apis said in a strict tone.  
“Sorry sir.” Inachos said as he suddenly becomes much more passive.  
“And Arno, just sit tight. Inachos can get you anything you need, just ask. But don’t try to get off this couch anytime soon okay?” Apis said to me in a cheerful tone mixed with a touch of malice.  
“Fine.” I said, not hiding my displeasure.

Across from the couch and a coffee table is a television on top of a wooden crate. Apis grabs a remote and turns the TV to some gameshow. I hear a rumbling sound and feel movement, the boat has begun to move. Inachos asks if I need a drink or something, I refuse.

An hour later and I have yet to say or do anything but watch the TV, the dingo comes back into the room. He sits on another couch beside mine. He stares at me, not paying any attention to the television. I try to ignore his staring, but I keep feeling it. Like someone constantly nudging against me. Once the episode of the show is over and it cuts to commercial, I finally speak up.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I said.  
“Everyone else thought you were a good idea to bring along. I’m still trying to figure that out myself.” He said.  
“What, are you the leader or something?” I said.  
“No. Right now we are leaderless. That’s why we have you here. We need you to get our leader back.” He said.  
“So I’m breaking someone out of prison or something?” I said.  
“Yeah, in a way. You see, we used to have a lot more members. But ever since our leader left us, our numbers have been dwindling.” He said.  
“Why not have someone else be the leader then?” I said.  
“We tried that. Every time we did, we lost almost half our number. None of us knew how to work this operation better than them, we need them back if we’re to keep surviving.” He said.  
“We going to brief him on the job then?” the buffalo said as she walked up behind me and stood behind the couch.

The dingo silently nods and stands up. He tells everyone to gather around. Soon all the others are on or around the couches. Everyone minus the toad, I suspect they are the one driving this thing. The lioness wheels out a whiteboard with a bunch of photos and paper on it. The largest photo is of a building with the logo for the K.o.P. on the side.

“Do you know what this place is?” She said to me.  
“It belongs to the Keepers of Providence from what I can see.” I said.  
“It’s the K.o.P.’s main prison for the continent. Extremists, heretics, and all other similar criminals are kept here.” She said.  
“So that’s what I’m helping you break into.” I said.  
“Yes. Xerxes here is going to tag along with you. Leave all the work to him. You’re there just so he can leech off of your blessing to stay hidden.” She said.  
“Do I have to tag along, can’t he just borrow my power and go alone?” I said.  
“You have to stay within twenty feet for my blessing to work.” Xerxes said.  
“Ugh. Fine. Is this all you need me for?” I said.  
“No, this is just the first step of the plan.” The dingo said.  
“What about everyone else?” I said.  
“They all have their own roles. We’ve prepared for this already.” The lioness said.  
“We’ll arrive there by midnight. Eat and rest before then. Once we finish, we have more work to do and we had best do it quick.” The dingo said.  
“We’re locking down in ten minutes people. If you have to go outside, do it now.” the lioness said.

Too bad I probably couldn’t make it outside. I’d love to turn my blessing on, run out the door, and jump off this crazy boat. But I have so many eyes on me. I can’t activate my blessing. These people knew who they were dealing with when they brought me here.

Xerxes took my wallet and phone from me the on the way over here. I doubt I can grab and use anyone else’s phone while I'm here. But trying to call for help is pointless anyway since they will oust Marwha if I do. Xerxes said one of them has a blessing that discovered that about her in the first place. What else could they know if they found out about that?

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn my head to see the raccoon standing behind me. She hands me a paper plate with a few slices of pizza on it, the slices are cold. She tells me to eat them since I haven’t eaten all day. I ask her how she knows that. She just smirks and drops the plate in my lap. Guess I have a suspect as to who has that blessing to learn things. But she was right. That nervous feeling I had all day made me lose my appetite.

The pizza is simply cheese. At least they were somewhat considerate in what I like. As I eat them, I hear the lioness announce the boat is locked down. I sit there chewing as I feel the boat rock back and forth from the waves. The engine’s sounds rumbling throughout the boat as well. I take a look around, seeing if there is anything I can use to my advantage.

The first thing I spot is a gun cabinet that is locked up tight. Behind the glass doors I can see things like rifles and pistols, both outfitted with suppressors. Even in the areas with more lax gun laws you shouldn’t be able to get those. I doubt I’d be much use with a gun anyway.

I turn towards the buffalo who is assembling some kind of tool. It looks like a jack they would use to lift up a car to change the tire. Only it’s much smaller. I notice a pile of other tools on a table behind him. I can’t tell what any of that stuff does.

Short of somehow killing everyone here. I don’t think I can get out of this without going along with their plan. Since everyone here except Inachos looks like they could snap me in half. Working with them is really my only option. Screw it, if I’m being forced to work with them, I’m getting some answers.

“What was up with my dad, why did he leave?” I said to the dingo as I put the now empty plate on the table.  
“Well…. During that period when we were trying out new leaders. A botched heist resulted in his sister being killed.” He said.  
“I had an aunt? He never mentioned her.” I said.  
“She died pretty young. After that, he got a bit nasty. He helped the police get their hands on the leader who organized the heist. We barely escaped that whole ordeal. That was the last we ever heard of him until recently.” He said.  
“And you resent him for it?” I said.  
“The others might, but I don’t. What he did was just what happened when we let another failure lead us. I’d have probably done the same thing or worse in his situation.” The dingo said.

My dad never seemed like the kind of person who would do that. Though the fact he had no objections to moving out to a place with such a low population in the middle of nowhere makes sense. I wouldn’t want to run into these people again after doing that. I need to have a talk with him when I get back.

Despite how uncomfortable it was to sit in one spot for hours without being allowed to move I sat on that couch between Apis and Inachos until it was around 5PM. And I only knew that from the digital clock displayed by the cable box below the TV. There aren’t any windows or anything that lets me see the outside world.

It starts getting harder to keep my eyes open. This whole day has been exhausting, no wonder I'm getting tired now. Apis notices and orders Inachos to take me to his room so I can rest up. Inachos asks where he is going to sleep, Apis said he’ll find a place for him. We both stand up, Inachos grips my arm with his small webbed talons as he leads me to a door at the wall of this room. I can tell Apis and the others are watching me carefully.

Inachos opens the door and I see a rather cozy bedroom built out of one of the storage containers. There is a beige carpet, a bed, a desk with a chair, a cabinet that is partially opened to show some messily stored clothes inside, and a chest at the foot of the bed. Apis walks up to the door and tells Inachos to step out. Apis says he’ll unlock the door when I wake up. He closes the door and I hear the door being sealed shut. I’d say having a door that locks from the outside is creepy, but this is literally a refurbished storage container. So it makes sense for the lock to be out there. But at the same time, I notice there is a metal bar leaning beside the door and a place to put it so you can deadbolt the door shut. Guess Inachos wanted to be able to lock it themselves.

The chest has a heavy lock on it. I suspect they will hear me if I try to break it. I don’t know how to pick locks either, so I’m not getting in here. The desk just has paper, a lamp, and some drawing utensils. There is a stash of drawings in a drawer built into the desk. But glancing through them shows me nothing interesting, Inachos certainly isn’t an artist. I can barely tell what’s happening on any of these. The cabinet just has clothes in it. Nothing useful under the bed. Looks like nothing in this room will help me get out of this situation.

I look towards the bed. The feeling of fatigue returns. Screw it, I’m locked in here with no way to get out. Might as well take a nap. I take off my shoes and academy coat before lying down. Not the comfiest bed, but falling asleep shouldn’t be an issue. I close my eyes and try to let myself doze off.

But my mind is a bit preoccupied. Thoughts of Marwha worrying about what’s happening to me are a large part of what’s bouncing around in my head. I wish I didn’t leave on such short notice. She must be very concerned about me, also concerned about possibly being condemned to execution. Honestly she’s probably thinking of that more.

I wonder if she told Kassadia or my family. I really hope she hasn’t. If I can just show back up at the academy without anyone noticing I was gone and not having to explain this crazy situation I was in. That would be just fine with me….


	5. The Drummer In Prison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno and Xeres attempt to sneak into a high security prison, where a strange resident takes notice of them.

I’m awoken by the rather loud sound of the bedroom’s door being unlocked and opened. I yawn and sit up to see the buffalo walk inside. In her hands is some clothes. She drops them on top of the chest and tells me to get changed into them. I ask why I should when my clothes aren’t exactly dirty. She says it’s in case I get discovered that the people there won’t be able to instantly identify me as a student at Satvius Academy. Even though I imagine they would be able to figure out exactly who I was since I was a witness in the whole cult incident last year. Also I can’t imagine there are that many coyote and rattlesnake hybrids with my specific mutations. But I don’t tell her that since she’s probably one of the most intimidating people here.

I get out of bed and look at my new outfit. An olive green long sleeved shirt and black jeans. Alright, I guess I’ll wear it. I undress and re-dress before putting my shoes back on and walk out. 

I see the entire group all dressed up in similar clothes and ready to go. Except Inachos and the toad. They are still in the clothes I saw them in…. how long was I out? I glance at the television’s cable box and see it has been five hours, it’s 10PM now. Xerxes spots me and walks up, I notice he is wearing a ski-mask with some strange stuff painted on it. Weird geometric patterns and dots in specific places.

“Ah good, you’re awake and dressed.” Xerxes said as he approached.  
“What’s that on your face?” I said.  
“Anti-facial recognition mask. I know your power stops us from being detected by regular cameras. If they have any facial scanners or thermal cameras in there, we need an extra layer of protection.” He said as he handed me a similar mask and a long padded sleeve of some kind.  
“What’s the sleeve for?” I said.  
“Your tail. All sorts of people with tails use these for warmth or when their tails are too bushy and need to be covered up somehow. Put on this mask and that sleeve and you won’t look any different from a regular canine.” Xerxes said.   
“Fine.” I said as I slip the sleeve onto my tail and put on the mask.

The dingo stands on the coffee table. I can see that various parts of it had been reinforced with metal. I can already guess he’s broken a few tables before when doing this. The dingo began to give his speech.

“Everyone. We’ve prepared for weeks to do this. We have the equipment ready, everyone knows what they have to do. All we have left is to do it. And to be honest, it may be the last thing we ever do together as a family. If we win, we’ll have our true leader back and our family will prosper once more. But if this all goes sour. I will hold nothing against whatever you may do to get out of it alive and free. I’ve grown to know and love you all over these long years we’ve been together. I’m proud to call you family. But if this is where that all ends. So be it. We all know what we need to do, so let’s get this done!” The Dingo said.

Everyone let out a hearty cheer, except for me and Inachos. The dingo says for Gudea and Inachos to stay behind and guard their home. I see the toad nod their head and Inachos sits down in a chair trying not to look disappointed. I guess he wanted to be part of this too.

Those of us leaving to do the job all exit out onto the deck of the barge. It’s thankfully light enough from the moon for me to see where the edge of the barge is. I can see a building with searchlights not far from us. They said it was a prison, and that’s a prison if I’ve ever seen one. I look around and don’t see any kind of dinghy or something to bring us over there. Are they going to make me swim all that way!?

“Zenobia. You’re up.” The dingo said.

The bison walks over to the edge of the barge and holds out her hand towards the water. A small round platform that looks almost translucent forms in midair. She steps on it and the thing somehow holds her weight. Are we all supposed to get on that?

“Is that how we’re getting over there?” I said.  
“No. That’s how she’s getting over there. She’s going to carry us.” The dingo said.  
“How? There’s seven of us.” I said.  
“You think I’m weak little dog?” she said threateningly.  
“Easy on him Zenobia. He doesn’t know what I can do.” The lioness said.  
“Huh?” I said.  
“Mavia here can have all of us stored inside a mirror. We all go in, Zenobia carries us across.” Xerxes said as the lioness pulled out a small makeup compact.  
“Yeah. Now hold still and look into the mirror, this won’t hurt but it works better if you don’t move a lot.” She said as she opened the compact and aimed the mirror towards me.

I look into the mirror. All I see is my masked face. But it quickly starts to change shape, I see something else in the glass. A room? My reflection gradually fades and soon only the room is there. I look up to ask her what is supposed to happen.   
Only when I look up, I realize I’m not on the boat anymore. 

I’m now standing inside an inverted dome. The floor beneath me is made of concrete. Above me is a massive mirror covering the entire top of the pit. The sides of the pit are slanted enough for me to walk up. There is no airflow here, and my whole body feels slightly numbed. It’s cold in here too yet the ground isn’t cold at all.

“Hey.” The raccoon said as she appeared behind me.  
“Woah. Are we inside the mirror?” I said.  
“Yeah. Every mirror looks different, this one is kinda nice though.” She said as Xerxes appeared behind her.  
“How are you getting in so fast, it took me longer than that to get in.” I said.  
“It’s real slow the first time. Next time you’ll be able to just jump in.” Xerxes said.

It doesn’t take long for the others to join. But what surprises me is when I see Mavia enter this space as well. I ask how we’re supposed to get out when she’s in here. The lioness just says whoever holds the mirror can get us out.

Well she’s in here too. So I guess I can trust her on that. I sit down and wait. Xerxes walks over and sits beside me. Everyone else discusses their roles in this.

“A lot of people here to break someone out of a prison.” I said.  
“Well we are here to find someone. But there are other things that need to be done too. Getting to this person is just our job.” He said.  
“What’s everyone else doing?” I said.  
“Their jobs. Either with their own goals, or making sure we all get our jobs done. Whatever the case, only job you need to know about is ours.” He said.  
“And what. I just turn my blessing on and stay close to you?” I said.  
“Pretty much, yeah. Stay close and this will be over soon.” He said.  
“So why do you have a gun?” I said as I look at the pistol strapped to his thigh.  
“Well I don’t intend to shoot you if that’s what you’re wondering. This is my backup plan if the job goes sour.” He said.  
“And what part do I have in that plan?” I said.  
“At worst, a hostage so I can get away safely.” He said.

I sigh and don’t talk any further. I notice most of the others here are armed as well. Except for the dingo. Maybe his blessing is one of the dangerous kinds. I remember hearing how blessings capable of causing physical harm must be registered by the government. But even though that doesn’t apply to me, I know how dangerous my blessing could be if I used it right. I imagine I could use it to shoot someone point blank with a gun that wouldn’t make a sound thanks to my blessing. But I’d never do that, I couldn’t bring myself to kill someone.

Eventually there is a loud thumping on the mirrored ceiling. It sounds like it’s coming from outside. Xerxes tells me to look straight up at the ceiling, just like I did when I looked at the compact. I comply, and soon I’m standing on the shore nearby the prison. It doesn’t take long at all for the others to join me.

“Alright. Zenobia, you stay here and out of sight. You’re our ticket home.” the dingo said.  
“You got it Ramses” Zenobia said. At least now I know what to call him.  
“Everyone, you know what to do. Once you finish, head back here and get inside Mavia’s mirror. Don’t waste time.” Ramses said.

Xerxes puts his hand on my shoulder and tells me to activate my blessing and follow him. I do as he says once he and the others have their eyes off me for at least a second, my blessing activates and the world becomes tinted in the familiar blue. At first, Xerxes is blue like the rest of reality. But then the tint fades away around him. I see him shiver a bit when turning it on.

“Ugh. That feels so weird. Don’t you feel that too?” Xerxes said.  
“I’ve been able to do this since I was a child. I was one of those early bloomers. So I’ve gotten used to it to the point where I don’t even feel strange doing it anymore.” I said.  
“Lucky bastard. I didn’t know I could do this until I was in my twenties.” He said.  
“Can we cut the chatter. Ramses said not to waste time.” I said.  
“Right, anyway. Our goal is to infiltrate the high security block of this prison. Inside there is who we need to get to.” He said as he began walking up the hill towards the prison with me following behind.  
“And my power will be enough?” I said.  
“No. They have that wing of the building wired to hell with motion sensors and thermal cameras. The others will take care of them so we can get through.” He said.  
“You trust them?” I said.  
“With my life.” Xerxes said.

The prison is certainly not one that skimps out on security. We arrive at the main entrance, an electrified gate with two armed guards sitting in a booth. There is a second fence behind the electrified one. Likely to make escape just that much harder. The gate is closed and the booth is on the inside. No way can we get this gate open without them noticing. We don’t have time to wait for them to have a reason to open the gate either. But Xerxes already has a plan, he claims he has used this trick before.

He asks me if I’ve noticed the wind. I felt it when I was on the boat, but I never gave it much mind. He leads me over to a tree near the fence. He picks up a large stick from a fallen branch jostled loose by the wind. We walk over to the fence next and he aims the stick so it can get caught in the wiring. He lets go of the stick and it begins to let out a series of sparks before catching fire. We run back over to the guard booth, whose occupants have now noticed the flaming stick.

“Dammit! Not again! I keep telling them to prune that thing!” one of the guards said in annoyance.

One guard picks up a fire extinguisher while the other one opens the gate. The guard runs over to extinguish and remove the stick while we walk inside without them knowing a thing. I have no idea how we are going to get out again. I at least hope he has a plan for that. I’ve been mentally preparing what I can say to the guards to prove my innocence in all this should I get caught.

A door inside is our next goal. We walk around the perimeter of the building looking for an opportunity to get inside. We can’t just open a door or else they might notice us. We need to find a door that’s already open. But once again, we don’t have time to wait for someone to come by. 

But to our luck, we find our ticket inside. A truck unloading boxes of…. something. I have no idea what, but it doesn’t matter at the moment. The loading bay is wide open with only a few workers and an armed guard nearby. They really don’t want anyone getting out it seems. Thankfully this does nothing to stop us from getting inside.

We enter some kind of storage area. Stacks of wooden and cardboard boxes all arranged in a way that looks somewhat intentional. Xerxes looks around for some way to leave this room. But then I hear a ringtone.

“Finally….” Xerxes said as he takes out his phone and looks at it.  
“What is it?” I said.  
“They got into the security system. My phone will transmit my location and they will put the systems near us on a loop. As long as no one sees us opening doors, we should be fine.” He said.  
“Then let’s get this done quick.” I said.

We sneak our way through the prison. Which now seems a lot bigger on the inside. We pass by guards, staff, and inmates. The inmates are arranged by the severity of their crimes. Some have an anklet with that odd symbol I’ve seen on Scott’s headband that suppresses his blessing. Only this one is made of metal and clearly locked on. Guess they have blessings too dangerous to be used freely. 

The further we go in, the higher the security gets. Xerxes claims to know which cell the person we’re after is in. And soon enough, we arrive. This wing isn’t the maximum security the prison has, but it’s close to it.

The door to the room is made of thick glass, and inside are two seperate cells, each one holding a different person. In one I see a chipmunk sleeping. Xerxes claims that’s who we’re after while he picks the lock. In the other, I see someone familiar sleeping as well. 

An antelope, one who looks just like the former deacon from Satvius. The one who led that cult that tried to kidnap Marwha. I recognize his face and the patterns in his fur, no doubt that’s him. Xerxes gets the door open and quietly opens it.

“Okay, we go in. I pick the lock, and we briefly become visible to explain the situation to him. Okay?” Xerxes said.  
“I can’t reveal myself. I know that other guy in there and he knows me!” I said.  
“Who is he?” he said.  
“The leader of the cult that was at my school. I’ve interacted with him directly before his arrest. He’ll know my voice and my power.” I said.  
“Fine, only I will reveal myself. You stay near and don’t ditch me or I’ll tell the others to reveal what they know about your friend.” Xerxes said to me.  
“I swear I won’t.” I said.

Xerxes picks the lock open and quietly opens the door to the chipmunk’s cell. He shuts off his blessing and shakes him awake. The chipmunk slowly looks at who it is before jolting awake. He looks over at his cellmate. He is still fast asleep.

“Finally. I’ve been here for weeks. You have any idea what they have done to me to try and get it?” he said softly as he stood up.  
“So you still have it?” Xerxes said quietly as well to not wake the other one in the room.  
“Yes, I do.” He said.  
“Give it to me, I'm not leaving until I have it.” Xerxes said.  
“Fine, give me a second.” He said.

He grabs his shirt and lifts it partway up his torso. He takes his other hand and puts it on his stomach. Then his hand seems to phase into his body. Does he have a blessing that lets him store things inside himself? 

He pulls out something wrapped in what looks like a bath towel and tied up with what I'm assuming is dental floss. The wrapped item is about a foot and a half long. Xerxes squeezes it with his talons, feeling whatever is underneath. 

“This is it. You did a great job getting this.” Xerxes said.  
“Listen. I don’t know why your group wanted this. But I don’t care. I just want to get out of here.” He said.  
“A deal is a deal.” Xerxes said.  
“How are we getting out?” he said.  
“I have a blessing that can let us sneak right out of here. Let me get it ready, I just need you to blink.” Xerxes said.

Wait, what is he talking about? My blessing can’t extend to anyone but me! The chipmunk blinks and suddenly Xerxes is using my power again. I’m about to ask him what he means. But before I can open my mouth. He pulls out his gun from his holster and shoots the chipmunk in the head.

My blessing perfectly masked the sound and light from the gun. A bullet silently whizzes into his head, the bullet not having enough force to go completely through his skull. He falls onto his bed with a soft thud. I turn around, the antelope is still fast asleep.

“Let’s go.” Xerxes said as he picks up the bullet casing from the floor and puts it in his pocket.  
“WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? I thought we were here to break out your leader, not kill him!” I said.  
“You are here to break our leader out of prison. But he’s not in this prison. This guy was just a freelance thief we’d hire occasionally. I can’t risk him telling the C.o.P. about us. Now that he doesn’t have the thing they arrested him for stealing.” Xerxes said.  
“You couldn’t have warned me or something?” I said.  
“It doesn’t matter. We have to go.” Xerxes said.

We walked out of the room, closing the door behind us. Xerxes claims we shouldn’t go out the same path we came in. We head towards the maximum security ward for another path. But as we get closer, I have a strange sensation.

I’m shaken up from witnessing that murder. But I feel something else, a small force being exerted on me. A bunch of minor but rhythmic pulses that I feel deep in my core. They get stronger the farther we go. 

Soon the pulses are accompanied by a sound. It sounds like a drum. The sound isn’t muffled by my blessing either. Normally there is some kind of interference, but not here.

“Do you hear that noise?” I said.  
“Hear what?” Xerxes said.  
“Like…. Drumming. Not what you would hear in a rockband, but more like a smaller one you play by itself.” I said.  
“You sure you’re not stressed from what you saw back there?” he said.  
“I saw worse last year during that cult incident. This is different!” I said.  
“Ignore it, whatever it is we have no time for it.” Xerxes said.

We keep walking, the drumming getting louder and louder. The force is steadily increasing as well. Eventually we see a door. A heavily reinforced metal door, different from what we’ve seen so far. And the sound is coming from behind it. 

I inform Xerxes of this but he again tells me to ignore it. But right as we pass it by, it opens. The both of us stop and see what is behind the now wide-open door.

A large empty cell at the end of a long hallway. I can’t make out who is at the end. But I notice them looking at the entrance. And then I hear a voice.

“Hey. Come help me out will ya?” a hypnotically soothing voice said.

I feel as if I have lost control of my body. I instantly begin walking down the hall. Xerxes demands that I stop, but I fail to respond. He has to follow me or else risk losing access to my blessing. As I get closer, I see the source of it all. A strange looking woman holding a small wooden drum. She’s not like any species I have seen. She looks deceptively feline in a manner similar to Marwha. She has sandy-red fur, round ears, and she’s certainly shorter than most predatory breeds of feline. Her thumbs are tipped with a peculiarly large claw, and her smile reveals a strange set of front teeth that look like she could bite through my skull without much effort. I think she’s a marsupial lion, I didn't think I’d ever see one. She speaks to me in a voice that drowns out Xerxes’s pleas for me to stop.

“Sorry to do this to ya. But you’re the first person I’ve sensed that could get me out without those jerks knowing. All thanks to that pretty little blessing you have.” She said.  
“Who…. Are you?” I said while my mind is in a fog.  
“Someone these fools misunderstood. But I can’t blow my cover by breaking out of here myself. So if anyone asks, you let me out.” She said as the door’s multiple locks all clicked and opened by themselves.  
“Dammit! Stop whatever you are doing to him right now!” Xerxes shouted as he pulled out his gun.  
“You’re going to try and get out right? I know the way out.” She said as she opened the door.  
“Give me one good reason not to shoot you right here. No one gets put in a place like this for nothing.” Xerxes said.  
“I have no intention of harming my rescuers. We’ll get out and part ways. Besides, the alarm is about to go off and you could use my help.” She said.  
“How could you know?” he said.  
“Your friend the raccoon. She’s about to mess something up in about….. ten seconds.” She said as she walked towards the exit.  
“I don’t believe you.” Xerxes said as he cocked his gun.  
“Fine then. I offered to be nice about it.” She said before hitting the drum rather hard.

Xerxes begins acting like I am. He puts his gun away and we both follow her. She casually leads us all the way out of the facility. Calmly playing her drum all the way out. Her drumming somehow louder than the alarms that blare through the prison. Even among the panic and rush of guards and personnel. We just walk right out of there. 

We get to the two guards by the gate again. She walks right up to them, neither of the guards even acknowledging her existence. Then she whispers a command into the guard’s ear. He opens the gate immediately.

We walk out as the guards suddenly realize the gate is open and quickly shut it. We walk halfway to the shore before we stop in a place with the view of the prison obscured by trees. She stops playing and we both come to our senses. My blessing involuntarily shuts off as well.

“No. NO! I’m not letting you get away after you did that to us!” Xerxes shouted as he aimed his gun at her.  
“You were not cooperating and we were pressed for time. I did what I had to do.” She said.  
“Fuck you and fuck your powers.” He said with his talon on the trigger.  
“Such anger. You’ll fit in when you go to the world of penance.” She said.  
“Wha…. How do you possibly know….” Xerxes said dumbfounded.  
“Good luck with that.” she said.

The strange woman then simply leaned backwards. She fell to the ground flat on her back. Only she didn’t stop falling when she did, she seemed to just pass through the ground. We both looked around, no trace of her.

Xerxes curses under his breath. He puts his gun away and activates his blessing, I activate mine. He says we’re going to head back to shore. And also inform the others about her.

We arrive down at the shore. The prison is on full alert and I can still hear the alarms. Zenobia is trying to hide behind a large rock near the shore. Hiding must be hard for her considering how large she is. She spots us and tells us to get inside as she pulls out the mirror. I get close to it and stare into the reflection. In mere seconds I’m inside the mirror world.

We get there and see Ramses and Mavia inside. The cormorant and raccoon are not here yet. Ramses stands up and looks at the wrapped object Xerxes has in his talons. I just sit on the floor to rest.

He asks if we’re the ones who tripped the alarm. Xerxes says we didn’t get spotted, but that is also not important compared to what we found inside. He tells her about the strange woman with the drum and what she did. Ramses looks worried about this.

“Then we can’t waste any time. We’re leaving in five minutes. With or without Apis and Salom.” He said.  
“By the way, I got it.” Xerxes said as he handed the wrapped object to Ramses.  
“And Simmons, how is he?” Ramses said.  
“Holding a bullet for me.” Xerxes said.  
“Good. The less people who know about this the better. But there is no telling who or what that woman is. I thought marsupial lions were all gone.” Ramses said.  
“Well that’s genetics for you. Sure feline women like Mavia don’t have those two huge teeth anymore. But they still carry the genes for it and one can pop up from time to time.” Xerxes said.  
“It’s rare. Rarer than ending up with a hybrid kid like Arno. But it happens.” Mavia said.

Next thing we know, Apis and Salom appear inside the mirror world. Apis immediately tells Ramses how Salom tripped the alarm. I can’t hear the details over their arguing. Instead of trying to understand what happened, I decided to ignore it. I lay back and close my eyes as Zenobia brings us back to the barge.


	6. On to the next step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno is told about the next step of the plan. And it is far worse than the first step.

I hear the barge’s motor start up as we all walk back into the barge’s main room. I take off the mask and tail sleeve almost immediately, they were getting annoying to wear. It’s midnight, and the job had been mostly successful. Inachos runs out of his room to greet us.

“You did it!? You got them both?” Inachos said.  
“Yes. We almost didn’t thanks to Salom here.” Apis said.  
“That was not my fault! No one could have seen that coming!” she said, protesting the accusation.  
“Your whole thing is knowing stuff! You didn’t see this with your blessing?” Apis said.  
“I can’t predict the future. I found out the guard’s shifts and patrol routes and they adhered to them perfectly until the last minute. Something one of the others did must have changed it!” Salom said.  
“Enough. Both of you. As much as I’d like to pin the blame of that last part on someone. We don’t have time for this!” Ramses said.

Ramses had unwrapped the object Xerxes and I had gotten. A strangely decorated sextant. Covered in intricate engravings that glowed a dim red with glass that was covered in facets like a diamond. That thing looked more valuable than my house.

“Is that what we stole? That was worth killing that guy over?” I said.  
“You have no idea how valuable this thing is. Or how illegal it is to have it.” Xerxes said.  
“I just have no idea in general with any of you. I thought we were breaking your former leader out of prison. That’s why I was so shocked when you shot him!” I said.  
“That’s still the goal. But our boss isn’t in that prison. She’s in the toughest prison in all of existence.” Ramses said.  
“Can I at least get a name this time? Where is she?” I said.  
“Hancheriod….” Ramses said.

No way. Hancheriod, The World of Penance. It’s not a prison, it’s a whole other world. Everyone knows when you die, your deeds in your life and all your past lives are evaluated. If you are good enough, you get to go to Massamiol, the World of Paradise. A perfect afterlife of infinite leisure. If you don’t have enough good deeds to go there, you simply get reincarnated. But if you did enough bad deeds, you get sent to the World of Penance.

A grim duplicate of our world, devoid of all life but the ones sent there after death. Their negative traits are amplified, they are given mortal bodies, and the wicked torment the wicked for all eternity. Death there simply results in your body reforming somewhere else in the world. An inescapable hell of constant death and suffering, all self-inflicted by the wicked people who have been sent there.

You can’t get out of there without redeeming your soul by performing good acts. Even then all that happens is you are given another shot at the reincarnation cycle. You can’t break in because it’s on a whole other world that’s on the exact opposite side of the sun from us. Space travel isn’t capable of that. Even if it was, I doubt the gods would let anyone go there.

“What the fuck did you just say? Your leader is dead and we’re going to break her out of the afterlife!?!?” I said, wanting to be sure I heard him correctly.  
“Yes. This thingy you stole, it will allow us to go to The World of Penance. Without dying of course.” Ramses said with a grin.  
“That sextant was used by one of the messiahs to bring people from the dead world to the new world. We can traverse the space the gods themselves reside in, we can get there in minutes.” Xerxes said.  
“Wha…. How do you…. Is this why you killed that guy!?” I said.  
“If he tells others, then word may spread far enough for the gods to hear. If any of them hear about it, well you can guess that they won’t be happy.” Ramses said.  
“I heard similar crimes against the gods resulted in the perpetrator having their soul severed from the reincarnation cycle. Doomed to exist forever as a mere consciousness with no body.” Xerxes said.  
“No. I’m not having any part of this! I helped you get that thing, I don’t see why you need me anymore.” I said.  
“Did you forget that we told you your assistance is needed for more than one part of our plan? We need someone to sneak by the gods while the rest of us are in Mavia’s mirror world. That way we can all get there.” Ramses said.  
“I CAN’T DO THAT!!!! I feel like the gods would be able to see through whatever my blessing does!” I said.  
“You will do it. Or your friend will end up getting executed.” Ramses said with a glare.  
“Not to side with the kid. But are you sure it’s possible for him to do it?” Apis said.  
“The gods are not omniscient. They have senses like everyone else. Arno’s blessing affects the senses directly. Besides, they are gods after all. They may have a trillion other things they need to pay attention to.” Mavia said.  
“Doesn’t the Congregation have a god of interdimensional travel?” Salom said.  
“Probably. They have a god for everything after all.” Xerxes said.  
“Enough. Once we rest up and resupply. We leave for Hancheriod. Who knows what that strange lady Xerxes and Arno encountered is doing. We need to move fast. You all have five hours to prepare.” Ramses said.

Everyone walks their separate ways, Leaving me standing there still trying to process this revelation. I’m breaking into hell itself. I’ll be lucky if I make it out of there alive, I’ll be lucky if I even make it there at all. What will this mean when i die?

When you die, your deeds in life are tallied by a being called “The Critic” an ancient entity predating the gods themselves. No one knows what they are, or even anything about them. We only know they exist because the gods themselves admitted they do not control the afterlife. Instead it’s just some entity that determines where souls go when they die. It serves no god, completely unbiased in its rulings. Will the critic forgive this crime if I was forced to do it? Or will helping these scoundrels get to Hancheriod merely doom my own soul to be trapped there when I die?

This train of thought makes my head spin. I sit against a wall and stare blankly at the floor, my mind a stew of self-doubt, fear, stress, and general anxiety. I didn’t think I was going to die when the cult captured me, I knew the C.o.P. were on their way and I would be saved before long. But that was the closest I had gotten to what I am currently feeling.

I wish I had my phone. I want to call my family or Marwha. Just to get some kind of comfort from hearing their voices before I do this. Or to at least tell them why I might not be coming back from it.

I just want to go back. Back to home or even Satvius. Just leave and forget this happened, maybe drink enough to make myself believe this was all a bad dream. Maybe there is someone at Satvius who can erase all my memories of this. My sulking is interrupted by the sound of Inachos loudly protesting something. I look towards the noise and see Inachos talking to Ramses.

“Why can’t I come!?” Inachos said.  
“You’re being childish. We need someone here to watch the barge.” Ramses said.  
“You said you were going to take me out on jobs. I still haven’t been on one yet and you said that you’d take me months ago!” Inachos said.  
“I did say that. But this job isn’t something I want to risk going bad by bringing a rookie like you into it.” Ramses said.  
“But why does Arno get to go? He knows less than me!” Inachos said.  
“Arno’s blessing is vital. I’d love to have someone with more experience in his role. But as it stands, he’s our only option.” Ramses said.  
“And my blessing isn’t useful to this job?” Inachos said.  
“Your blessing lets you make and receive electronic communication signals. We’re going into what is essentially a warzone, your blessing really wouldn’t help us at all.” Ramses said.

Inachos is at a loss for words and walks away. He goes straight into his room. And I feel something, I feel sad for him. In fact I realize I have been feeling this ever since I met him.

I’ve barely been with these people for half a day, but all I’ve seen them do is discipline him. Why is he even here? One of these people could be his mother or father, but that’s only one possibility. I haven’t seen or heard anything to suggest it. No one is looking. They’re all rushing to prepare for this quite literally hellish journey. I stand up and walk over to Inachos’s room.

I see the seagull sitting at his desk with a pen in hand. He is drawing something. I step inside, he stops drawing and looks at me. Then he continues his drawing.

“What do you want?” Inachos said.  
“I left my clothes in here. The one’s they gave me are too tight for my tastes.” I said, which was true.  
“Of course they had you do that. They treat you with more respect than I have gotten ever since I came here.” Inachos said.  
“They threatened to harm me and have my friend killed several times since I came here.” I said.  
“They told me all respect had to be earned. Apparently I haven’t earned enough to be better than a random college student.” Inachos said.

I don’t respond. Instead I undress and put my original clothes back on. Everything minus the red jacket, it’s rather hot in here. Inachos doesn’t look up from his drawing.

“How did you end up here?” I said.  
“Why do you want to know?” He said.  
“Curiosity mostly.” I said.  
“That leader they are so eager to get back. She’s my grandmother.” Inachos said.  
“Oh…. So she entrusted you to them?” I said.  
“No. I was in foster care most of my life. My father was some illegitimate child of hers. He’s nowhere to be seen and my mother didn’t survive childbirth. Eventually these people found out and falsified documents to get me to live with them.” He said.  
“Do you like it here?” I said.  
“I’ve been trying to figure out if I do or not.” Inachos said.  
“You can’t decide?” I said.  
“These people are close, almost like a real family. I just have to earn my chance to be part of it.” He said.  
“Well I'm wondering if they aren’t treating you like the others right away, why did they go and get you anyway?” I said.  
“My grandmother has been sending messages through me. I can pick up signals with my blessing. Apparently she can send messages through me even all the way over where she is.” He said.  
“So they heard about that and brought you into their group to stay in touch?” I said.  
“I can only receive signals, I can’t send them. She’s just spouting stuff hoping they’ll hear. It’s how they found out about that artifact and all that.” he said.  
“Alright…. But how are you possibly receiving signals from the other side of the sun?” I said.  
“Her blessing let her do the opposite of me, send signals to electronic devices. Or people with a blessing like me. I guess because we’re related, her messages home in on me.” he said.  
“Inachos! What did I say about telling him our secrets!?” Apis said as he angrily walks in.  
“I’m sorry…. I….” Inachos tried to say.  
“Arno, get the hell out. I’m going to have a private talk with him on the importance of discretion.” Apis said as he pointed towards the door.

I hesitate for a second, then I walk out of the room. Apis closed the door behind him. Seeing nowhere else to go, I walk over to a couch and sit down. Everyone else is off doing their own thing to prepare. Xerxes eventually comes over and sits down next to me. 

“How you doing?” he said.  
“Not well considering what I'm going to have to do.” I said.  
“You’ll be fine. Probably.” He said.  
“Can’t you do it? You can copy my blessing. And I could just stay in the mirror world with the others?” I said.  
“I can’t copy blessings of people inside the mirror world. Trust me, I tried.” he said.  
“Well…. Do you know what it’s going to be like?” I said.  
“I honestly don’t know. The godspace was never meant to hold ordinary people. But that artifact was designed to let ordinary people navigate it. If the messiahs could lead millions of people through it to the new world. Then I don’t see why you can’t.” he said.

I sigh and lean back into the cushion. This day is just too much. I just want all this to be over. But first I have to live through it….


	7. Tresspassing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno is somewhere he doesn't belong.

The sextant feels heavier than I expected. This thing, a person died to get this. One of the messiahs themselves held this to ferry millions to a new world. The sextant should be thousands of years old. I can never remember the date of when the new world was created, but it was incredibly long ago. Yet despite its age, the thing looks brand new. Not a scratch or smudge on it.

I hear someone call my name. I see Mavia standing by the same mirror I was inside earlier. The others going on this job are already inside. Inachos is still in his room and Gudea is sitting in the lounge observing us. They’re to stay behind and watch the ship.

“We’re going inside. I can sense everything going on outside this mirror so don’t try anything.” Mavia said.  
“I won’t. So how the hell am I supposed to use this thing. And what about that other artifact you stole?” I said.  
“That other artifact is with us to use for later. As for the one you’re holding. Just look through the glass and use your blessing. Ramses said these things are blessing activated.” Mavia said.  
“And what about navigating the godspace. How do I do that?” I said.  
“Salom says that thing will help direct you to it. None of us have gone there. But that thing is your key in and out.” Mavia said.  
“Okay…. I hope I can figure it out.” I said nervously.  
“You had better. Our very souls could be riding on this.” Mavia said before vanishing inside the mirror.

I pick up the compact and shut it before stuffing it in my pocket. Gudea nods at me silently from the couch. I take a deep breath and hold up the sextant. I close one eye to focus my vision through the scope. I see strange colors and shapes, I can’t make out what they are though. Nevertheless, I activate my blessing.

Nothing happens, I still see the strange shapes and I felt nothing. I lower the sextant to see if I maybe forgot to do something with it. But then I see what had really happened. I was no longer standing on the barge, or the world for that matter.

I’m standing in the middle of a grassy plain, the grass is a rusty-orange color and is waving in the cool breeze I feel across my face. The sky is a mix of yellows, oranges, and reds. As if it were in perpetual sunset, but I can’t see a sun anywhere. I look down, I’m not casting a shadow, yet there is clearly light here. Floating gently in the air like motes of dust are small lights. At first I thought they were fireflies, but one floats close to me and I can’t make out anything within the bright ball of light.

In the distance, I see mushroom-like plateaus of black stone. On top of one is a building unlike anything I had seen before. A spire made of reflective crystal stretching high into the sky, even going past the dark clouds that drifted by. At the very top is a purple light, one that fills me with an odd feeling when I look at it.

I know this place. I remember learning about it as a child. Sophist Diogen’s lighthouse. I am staring at the home of a god.

My blessing is still active, I can feel it. But the world isn’t tinted blue like it normally is. Blessings are the result of divine power, and this place is entirely divine power. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I shake my head to get my mind back on track. As strange as this place is, I can’t spend too much time here. I look through the sextant’s scope again.

There is some kind of aperture just barely covering my vision. I wonder how such an ancient device could have something like this, but then again this is a divine artifact so anything goes with this thing. I examine the rest of the device to find any sort of hint. I notice some text carved into the side of the scope that was not there before.

“FIND GREY”

I look around at my surroundings, I don’t see anything grey. I peer through the scope and look around once more. The aperture is slowly opening, maybe it needs time to charge between transporting me? Seeing through the scope only shows me the strange multicolored shapes like I saw before. But I soon spot something, a grey shadow. I see it is emanating from a strange shape that I can only see when looking in a certain direction with the scope. I guess that’s where I need to go.

I begin walking towards it. Thankfully it is in a different direction than the lighthouse. I’d rather avoid coming face to face with a god right now. Since I haven’t had that happen within the first five seconds of stepping foot in here, I feel confident my blessing is working.

But still, I am trying not to say anything. I still don’t know how my powers work on gods. I just have to keep moving forward. Thankfully this strange place isn’t letting me leave footprints.

After a half hour of walking, or at least I think it’s a half hour since I have no real time reference here. I begin to notice I haven’t felt any kind of fatigue so far. No hunger, no thirst, and I'm not even sweating. I stop and decide to test something. I squat down and jump forward as hard as I can. I land and realize that action did not tire me out in the slightest.

I start to move in a brisk jog, yet again not feeling any change in my stamina. I then start to run, eventually I begin to sprint. It’s a strange feeling. Sprinting across this strange landscape and not feeling tired at all. Is this what marathon runners feel like?

I keep passing those strange black plateaus. Some of them have structures on them, others are barren. I run along the side of a rather large one, getting a slight amount of enjoyment over this endless sprint. But then I see what’s on the other side and I stop in my tracks.

There is a plateau next to the one I just passed. On top of it is a massive desk with a model of the world embedded in the middle. It’s on some kind of gyroscope mount, allowing it to spin at a slow pace. The desk itself must be the size of a skyscraper. Gripping the desk and looking down on it is a black silhouette equally massive. No distinct features of any kind present on its body, save for a single glowing eye shining down on the globe like a spotlight. The Grand Designer, the god worshipped at Satvius Academy.

“Is that where you were hiding all this time? Deep in MY territory? I wasn’t informed of this. That means Diogen either doesn’t know as well, or they’re spying on me…. No. Mine would have told me about it if it was important. Still…. I need to inform Diogen about this.” The Grand Designer muttered to themselves yet still loud enough for me to hear over the great distance.

The god releases their grip from the desk with one hand and holds it out. A mass forms from the total blackness of their hand. It sprouts dozens of long arms, like a sea urchin with limbs instead of spines. It drops down onto the desk and scuttles off the side. I see it travel down the plateau and scuttle away from The Grand Designer. But it’s heading towards me! Sophist Diogen’s lighthouse is in the direction I came from.

I saw a deep indentation on the side of the plateau I just passed. I quickly run back to it and hide inside. I don’t know how this thing coming towards me works, I figure I should stay put until it passes. I press myself up against the wall and try not to move a muscle.

I hear it scuttling over the grass, it’s getting close. That thing is moving far faster than I could have imagined. It zooms past me and off into the distance. But then it stops. 

It stands in the middle of the field and looks around. It makes a motion that almost resembles…. Sniffing. It couldn’t have smelled me, my blessing covers up scents. Even if I had left an incredibly pungent trail, no one should be able to smell it until my blessing is inactive. No idea how that part of my blessing works, but blessings don’t always make sense or abide by the rules of nature. Then again, this thing probably doesn’t as well.

“What are you doing!? GO!” The Grand Designer said.

The ball of limbs flinches at the sound of their voice and scurries away. I wait until it is a considerable distance away before moving out of my hiding spot. I check the sextant again, I don’t have far. I just need to get past The Grand Designer’s desk.

I begin to sprint, giving the god a very wide berth as I run around. I eventually reach a large boulder made of the same stone the plateaus are made of. It is then when I hear the god speak up once again. I look over and see the limb-creature has already returned. It climbs up to The Grand Designer’s hand and seems to merge itself with it, sort of the opposite of how it was made. I look through the sextant, not far now, then I can leave this place.

“Wait what? You detected a presence from where!?” The god’s voice booms as I look away from the sextant. “I know for a fact none of the messiahs are here, so how can there be someone from Salkadium here?”

Salkadium, that’s the word for the planet everyone lives on. It knows something from there is here! A red eye forms on their head, shining down on the spot where the creature was sniffing around earlier. And then it begins to travel along the path I had walked.

“Something left a trail here….” They said.

My heart begins to pound. I sprint towards where the sextant is telling me to go, hoping I’m able to outrun the eyes of a god. The light reaches the boulder I was just at. Then it starts moving closer to me!

My legs are moving the fastest they ever have in my life. If it weren’t for the weird sustainment this land is giving me, it would have already caught me by now. It’s only twenty feet away when I reach the spot. I look through the scope and turn my blessing off.

I hesitate pulling the scope away. Afraid that if I do I’ll see the face of an angry god looking down on me. I feel a hand grab my arm. I let out a high-pitched yelp and nearly drop the sextant. I turn towards the one grabbing my arm and I see Xerxes standing beside me.

“Congrats buddy, we made it!” he said with a smile.

I look around at where I am. I no longer see the eternal sunset sky. Instead the sky is overcast and grey, there isn’t any wind, and there is a slight chill in the air. In view is a city, a famous city I’ve visited myself. Except this one is in ruins, crumbling buildings and shattered windows. There aren’t any trees, any animals, any life at all save for us. Everything is barren and ruined. We have arrived in The World Of Penance.


	8. Hancheriod: The World Of Penance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno and company arrive in Hancheriod. Things only get complicated from there.

This place just feels wrong on every possible level. The air tastes stale, there isn’t a trace of plantlife anywhere, and there is this terrible smell hanging in the air. I can’t find the words to describe it, but it is certainly pungent. Judging by the looks on the others’ faces. They smell it too. I hope I get used to this scent soon.

We’re all sitting inside the wrecked heap of an old mobile home sitting on a road built into the side of a hill. It doesn’t start and this thing looks like it has been sitting here for over a decade. Xerxes took the sextant from me when we arrived. He’s sitting on the rotten remains of a chair while Ramses unwraps the other artifact they stole from the prison. It looks like a large compass, only it lacks an arrow and the center is filled with water.

“Okay everyone. This is the hard part. We need to find Puabi in this literal hellscape. But thankfully this thing should help us find her.” Ramses said.  
“Yeah, what is that thing anyway?” Apis said.  
“Salom, will you?” Ramses said.  
“Say you have a tree and you take a leaf off of the tree. Then you put that leaf inside that artifact. It will direct you to where the leaf came from.” Salom said.  
“Exactly. I managed to find this in Puabi’s old room.” Ramses said as he produces a small brown feather from his pocket.  
“Alright, I see how this works. Slap that feather in and lets get our leader back!” Apis said enthusiastically.

Ramses opens the top of the compass and gently places the feather inside. He holds it out so everyone can see. The glass cover has turned a solid black color and there is a white dot on the side. Ramses moves the compass and the dot stays aimed at the direction towards their leader. There is a few seconds of silence before Zenobia spoke up.

“So is it supposed to indicate distance or just a general direction?” she said.  
“I guess direction? Wherever she is, she’s north.” Ramses said.  
“And that could mean anything from a few miles to the North Pole.” Apis said.  
“Shit…. Salom, can you use your blessing to make sense of this?” Ramses said, sounding genuinely unnerved for the first time since I met him.  
“Give it here….” Salom said as she held out her hand.

Ramses hands Salom the compass. She holds it gently in both hands and closes her eyes. We all stare at her in silence for a minute before she moves again. Her eyes open and she hands the compass back to Ramses. But her eyes are white now, is she blind?

“She’s currently at the old world memorial.” Salom said as she grabbed the shoulder of Zenobia standing beside her, she looked dizzy.  
“That’s not far from here. Isn’t it just outside this city?” Apis said.  
“Yeah, but on the opposite side of where we are.” Salom said as Zenobia carefully helped her into a seat.  
“Is she okay?” I said.  
“My blessing blinds me for a while and screws with my sense of balance. Mavia, put me in your mirror for now.” Salom said.  
“What about the kid? Should we stuff him in the mirror too? We don’t exactly need him right now.” Apis said.  
“On the contrary, we do. Apis are you aware of where we are right now? We’re on a planet populated by literally the worst people to ever live. And unlike them, I don’t think we come back after we die. Arno here can get us across this place no problem.” Ramses said.  
“Are you seriously going to make me do that?” I said.  
“Blackmail or not, you have to admit. It’s your best chance of getting out here alive.” Xerxes said.  
“Fine! I’ll do it…. But can I just take a leak first? I haven’t had time to use the bathroom since you people kidnapped me.” I said.  
“I wouldn’t call it kidnapping. But wait, didn’t you have time after the prison job?” Xerxes said.  
“After seeing someone get shot in the head right in front of me and whatever the hell that lady was. I had too much on my mind to notice it.” I said.  
“Fine. Apis, find him somewhere to leak. We’ll get ready here.” Ramses said.

Apis walks me out of the mobile home. He says to head to the back and do my business there. I notice he has his gun out and aimed at me, a pistol with a suppressor attached. He says that if I use my blessing or run, he’ll shoot. I’m not planning to, these people have the only way out of this mess.

My back is facing Apis while I relieve myself. He is still pointing his gun at me all the while. I’ve seen everyone’s blessing but his and Ramses. Well, and the toad. But that one isn’t here right now. None of the ones I’ve seen are particularly dangerous. But the fact that Ramses didn’t bring a gun, even to this place. That concerns me.

I hear the rusted husk of a car nearby begin to creak. Thankfully I finished my business and was able to divert my full attention to the car. Apis aims his pistol at the car. There is a few seconds of silence as none of us dare to move yet.

But then we both see it. A hand reaches up from behind the car, the palm facing Apis. He fires a shot at the hand, not taking any chances. But the bullet comes to a stop halfway there before speeding up again, in the opposite direction. Apis manages to dodge the reflected bullet, but it goes right through the wall of the mobile home and I hear someone shout in pain.

The person hiding behind the car jumps up onto the hood. A mangy feline of some kind, their features so dirtied and scarred I can’t make out the species. Their clothes reduced to tatters and stained with blood. Their face wearing a feral expression, they look almost rabid.

They hold out both hands, palms towards us. Suddenly I feel a wave of pressure around me. I hear something impact against the mobile home, I glance behind me to see it having been launched into the air. But oddly enough, it is just frozen above the ground, not moving at all.

Apis however was not frozen. He had gotten thrown back before he could fire off another shot and was tumbling down the hill the road was built on the side of. I then realize I’m standing here alone with this monster in front of me. I turn around to run away, but they catch up with me in seconds. They wrap their mangy arm covered in foul smelling fur around my neck, putting me in a choke hold. I thrash and kick as hard as I can. But the world begins to go black.

I wake up almost instantly, but clearly time has passed since I see I'm in a different place. I’m at what looks like a trainyard, it’s just as dilapidated as the rest of this place. Judging from the sky, I wasn’t out for long.

Then I realize I can’t move. I’m sitting inside an open traincar. My arms and legs are bound and there is a noose tied around my neck to the roof. But it’s slack enough where I could lay down and be in no danger. I hear someone muttering to themselves.

I begin to panic and notice the mangy feline off to the side, rotating meat on a spit over a fire. But the meat they are cooking looks an awful lot like limbs from a person. Now I’m panicking even more. They notice my plight and walk over to me with a sinister grin.

“You, you’re not from here are ya?” the apparently female feline said.  
“Let me go!” I said, pleading with her.  
“You’re a hybrid too. We don’t have many of those around here. Reptile and canine meat all rolled into one? You’re going to be the best thing to ever happen to me since I got here.” She said, visibly drooling.  
“What!? The hell is wrong with you!?” I said.  
“I’m fine! It’s society that was wrong! The gods wanted to be superior over the others. I thought causing that bus of Congregation students on their way to the Pugna to go off the ledge would be a deed that would be rewarded! And what did I get for helping my god win that tournament? An eternity of hell!” she said, snarling at me.  
“You’re insane!” I said.  
“I was right! I should have been praised! But I know that uniform, you’re not with Sophist Diogen. You’re with The Grand Designer! Killing you will help redeem my soul and get me out of here!” She shouted.  
“Please! Don’t do this! I have a device to get you out of this place!” I plead.  
“I won’t fall for your lies. You’ll keep me fed for weeks. All I have to do is end you without damaging too much of your meat!” she shouted.

She climbs into the traincar. She walks behind me and holds out her hands. She obviously has some kind of blessing that propels some kind of force from her palms. It doesn’t take me long to figure out what she is planning to do.

I’m hit with a force that feels like a strong and consistent gust of wind. I’m thrown forward out the front of the car. Then the noose tightens. The force from her blessing keeping me elevated. I’m being hanged horizontally! I can’t breathe, the rope is digging into my neck and every panicked motion I make only causes my need for air to grow faster. I can hear her cackling, she’s taking an uncomfortable amount of joy in killing me.

My lungs are burning. It’s getting harder to struggle. My vision just barely begins to fade before I am suddenly launched forward. I hear her let out a scream as I land in the dirt. The rope has been cut, I gasp for air as my strength returns. I manage to look behind me to see what happened.

She’s lying on the ground, her wrists now bloody stumps. Copious amounts of blood soaking her clothes and the dirt. Standing ten feet away from her is a heron holding a makeshift knife in their hands. The knife is just a sharpened scrap of metal with cloth wrapped around the grip, but it doesn’t have any blood on it somehow.

“Don’t you do this to me. Finding him was the first good thing to happen to me since I got in here!” she shouted.  
“We’re here to be punished. We aren’t allowed to have nice things because of how we acted when we were alive.” The heron said in a masculine voice.  
“I’ll get you back for this!” she shouts.  
“Not if someone else doesn’t get you first.” The heron said.

He holds up the knife and thrusts into the air in her direction. A spectral knife of some kind flies out and stabs her right in the head. The spectral knife vanishes, she’s dead. Dead for now anyway, nothing dies forever in this place.

The heron lowers his blade and looks towards me. I’m still trying to catch my breath. He walks over and squats down in front of me. His appearance isn’t far off from that crazy lady. His feathers are all ruffled, his clothes are covered in small tears and stains, and he stinks only marginally better than she did.

“You’re not from here are you?” he said  
“What makes you say that?” I said.  
“You’re probably the cleanest person on the planet, not once did you try to attack her, and most of all, I heard you plead for your life. Why would a soul condemned to spend eternity here plead for a life they already lost? Unless, you didn’t lose your life yet and you got here some other way.” He said.  
“Yes. Okay! I used an artifact to travel here. I heard this place was bad, but she was downright insane.” I said as I glance at the corpse behind him.  
“That’s what this place does to you. Amplifies your negative traits and gives you eternal life to fester in it. But you don’t have a lick of hostility in you, I guess it doesn’t work on still-living people.” He said.  
“You seem pretty friendly yourself.” I said.  
“It took a lot of work to stop being what she is and become what I am now. And since I am able to ignore those urges, I’m trying to get out of here.” He said.  
“How do you intend to do that?” I said.  
“By helping you.” He said as he cut me free.


	9. Trapped But Not Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno and his new friend attempt to find the group.

Franco, that’s the heron’s name. He tells me that as he leads me to somewhere safe. I haven’t told him my name yet, he hasn’t asked for it either. I’m not sure I can trust him, but considering how he had me defenseless and let me free, he at the very least doesn’t want me dead yet. He leads me through back alleys, saying the streets are too dangerous. We pass by skeletal remains and rotting corpses. Some of them obviously had a drawn out and painful end. Some are impaled on spikes, burned, torn apart, and killed in just about every other way you could butcher a person.

But this wasn’t the end for them. They just pop back into the world, still as nasty as they were when they arrived. The wicked tormenting the wicked in an endless cycle of self-inflicted misery. It was just like the stories about this place said.

We arrive at his safe hideout. A garage hidden in an alleyway, not visible from the streets. Inside is an assortment of clothes, weapons, and a wall covered in scraps of paper. We walk inside, he slowly and quietly closes the door.

“There, we’re safe here.” He said.  
“How can I be sure I am? You could be as crazy as the others.” I said as I lean against a wall.  
“You wouldn’t have come in here if you thought I was. Either that or your blessing would help you kill me or escape.” He said before sitting down on a stool.  
“It can do a little of both. So tell me why you are helping me. I’ve never met you.” I said.  
“You’ve seen this place. It’s awful. I want out. And the only way out is to redeem your soul. I help you, I’m one step closer to redemption.” He said.  
“You’re in here for a reason. What did you do?” I said.  
“I was part of an extremist group. Not really a member, more like an associate. It was my job to silence anyone trying to sell us out to the K.o.P. and my blessing came in real handy for that. But one day I slipped up, and my target struck back.” He said.  
“And that got you a ticket here.” I said.  
“I was just in it for the money. I was a stingy bastard during my life, always looking for a way to make easy money. It took a bit of festering in this place to make me realize what a fool I was.” He said.

The room goes quiet. I look around and notice the papers on the wall again. I walk over and look at what’s written. It’s a record of his deeds he’s done here. Rescuing others being tormented, giving people things to help them survive, but one in particular stands out to me.

“It says you’ve given people food. But I haven’t seen anything edible here.” I said.  
“People are meat too. It’s the only reliable source of food on this rock.” He said.  
“You’re a cannibal?” I said.  
“I was. Figured maybe not eating people would help contribute to my escape.” He said.  
“So what do you eat?” I said.  
“I don’t. I’d kill all over again for proper food at this point. I go as long as I can, then I either die from someone or starve to death, then I restart and get going again. Even if I did eat the others here, cannibalism leads to some very nasty diseases. I experienced that once before I tried getting out of here, probably the worst thing to happen to me since I got here.” he said.  
“Well…. I have something that could get you out….” I begin to say.  
“No. I appreciate the offer, I really do. But it’s not that simple. One time there was a guy whose blessing let them open portals to pre-set locations. He happened to still have one in the world of the living. He tried to get others to follow him in exchange for a ticket out of this place. A whole bunch of fools bowed to him just so they could escape. Then they all went through the portal. The gods sensed someone from this world was in the world of life. They were severed from the reincarnation cycle and their souls doomed to wander the world forever. Only way I’m getting out is the legitimate way.” He said.

I was afraid of this. These people are planning to bring their boss out of here. But bringing them back to the world of life is suicide. I can’t let them do that and get punished alongside them!

“You’re here for a reason. No one should be here without one.” He said.  
“Well…. Since you’re dead and there is no way this information can leave this planet. I was blackmailed by a group of assholes who want me to help them get their dead boss out of here.” I said.  
“And that crazy lady I killed separated you from them I reckon?” he said.  
“Yes. As much as I hate them. They’re my best chance of getting out of here.” I said.  
“Well you sure as shit don’t want to be here any longer than you have to.” he said.  
“How long have you been here?” I said.  
“I dunno. Time just sort of blends together here. What year was it when you left?” he said.  
“Year 3122.” I said.  
“I think I died around year 3050.” He said.  
“It’s taken you over 72 years to redeem yourself!?” I said.  
“I spent a good portion of that time lost in my own rage. It took me a while to start working towards it. Which is why I was so eager to help.” He said.  
“Aiding someone this place is actually dangerous to certainly would help your soul.” I said.  
“Which is why I’m asking if you need any more help. Figure I could get some more out of you before you leave.” He said.  
“Yes actually, the others who dragged me here are going to The Old World Memorial. I figure that will be the best place I can find them.” I said.  
“That place is bad news. Real crazy lady lives there, horrible person.” He said.  
“That’s who we’re getting out.” I said, unenthusiastically.  
“Great. Well, I’ll guide you. Not like I have anything better to do.” He said as he stood up.

We were about a quarter of the way there already. If we walked fast enough, we could make it there before the day ended. Getting out of here certainly sounded appealing. The constant threat of being attacked by someone with the realization there is no easy way to get food or water is a big motivator.

Franco grabs a few knives from a table, all crude and improvised. He hands one to me, just in case. I grab hold of the knife, it has a jagged edge that was crudely sharpened. I’m pretty sure I see dried blood on the cloth wrapping around the grip. This was definitely used to murder someone. Then again, can you really call it murder in this place? I stuff it in a pocket for later.

As we leave, I ask him why he doesn’t have any proper knives. Surely a city that is a copy of the one back home has some. He explains that they were all either gone or too rusted to use by the time he arrived in this city. Apparently things rust and decay faster here.

We eventually pass by a ruined restaurant. I recognized it, some celebrity chef reviewed it on a TV show. It got famous after that episode came out, but the restaurant itself wasn’t built until around five years ago. This world is supposed to be an exact copy of it, as ancient as the world itself. How was this place, much less this entire city even built?

I ask Franco about this. He claims parts in the world “update” every decade or so. When this city updates, it will violently explode in a wave of light. Killing anything inside. The light will eventually fade and a brand new city full of things you can use to torment others is left behind. The gun shops are restocked, the cars work again, the buildings are intact, yet any trace of food or life is missing. The area quickly turns into a warzone and quickly reduced to something resembling what it was before. An endless cycle of rebirth that only fuels the eternal wickedness here.

I was never planning to. But this experience will make sure I live my life so I never end up here. If I make it out of this alive. Which I hope I do.

We’re walking for quite a while before we make it to the monument. The monument is in the middle of a plaza between a few skyscrapers. We’re standing in the lobby of one, carefully peering at the plaza from behind a desk. At the base of the monument is a shack built from scrap metal. Also in the plaza is a bicycle rack on top of a makeshift fire pit. Tied to the rack is a charred corpse still smoldering from the recently extinguished flames. Some distance away from it is a pile of charred bones, plenty of people’s bones are in that pile.

“You really sure she’s the one you’re looking for?” Franco said.  
“Yes. The ones who brought me here have some kind of weird tracking artifact. She’s supposed to be here.” I said.  
“Arno! What are you doing telling this guy our secrets!” an angry voice said from behind.

We turn around, Ramses and Xerxes are standing behind us. Xerxes has his gun trained on Franco. Ramses is holding the tracking artifact, I can see the indicator is pointing towards me. They were trying to find me. Makes sense, I’m their only ticket through the godspace.

“Does secrecy mean nothing to you!?” Ramses said.  
“He’s stuck here like everyone else. Who is he going to tell that matters? Besides, he saved my life.” I said.  
“From that crazy cat bitch?” Xerxes said.  
“Killed her, though she is probably up and about by now. But who knows where she reformed.” Franco said.  
“Doesn’t matter, I’m not risking him compromising the job.” Ramses said.  
“I’m just trying to help him so I can redeem myself and get out of here. He told me about you people, I don’t know if letting him go with you is a good thing or not.” Franco said.  
“What the fuck Arno, how much did you tell him!” Xerxes said.  
“Arno is the kindest person I have met in decades. I’m not going to let him be caught up in this scheme without a fight.” Franco said.

He quickly drew a knife and slashed at the air. A spectral knife flew out and stabbed itself into Xerxes’s arm. He grunts in pain and drops his gun. Franco quickly turns towards Ramses, who is still unarmed. Ramses stares at Franco, not even blinking. Franco began to slash again but he stopped.

Franco began to pant, the skin under his feathers is getting redder. He dropped his knife and fell to his knees. He looked towards me, eyes wide with agony and his flesh almost blistering. I can feel a steady heat coming from his direction. Franco smiles.

“I think that was it. I’m finally….” He said before falling to the floor, dead as the day he arrived here.  
“What the hell did you do to him!?” I say in shock and anger.  
“I can make the temperature of things double. That’s what will happen to you if we catch you doing anything stupid again!” Ramses said, even though I know they won’t kill me no matter what. For now anyways.  
“Dammit, I had better not get an infection from this thing.” Xerxes said as he pulled out the knife.  
“We’ll get you a tetanus shot when we get back. Go in the mirror and get patched up.” Ramses said as he pulled out the compact from his pocket.

Xerxes picked up his gun and entered the mirror. Ramses looked at me and closed the compact. He then looked towards the plaza. He stuffed the tracking artifact in another pocket.

“You. Come with me.” he said.  
“Shouldn’t I go in the mirror too? What reason do I have to meet her?” I said.  
“She’ll want to see the person who will have her life in their hands.” He said as he began to walk towards the shack.

Ramses knocks on the part of the shack that most looks like a door. I can hear something shuffling around inside. I want to stand a considerable distance away, Franco was worried for a reason. But Ramses insists I stay by his side.

“Puabi, It’s Ramses. We’re here to rescue you.” He said in an unusually friendly tone.  
“Get away from me, you’re not real! My mind taunting me with false hopes of seeing my former comrades again. NO MORE!” a voice said from within the shack.  
“Puabi, it’s actually me. I know you’re probably not in a good place mentally right now. But please, open the door.” Ramses said.

The door isn’t even a door, just a heavy sheet of metal propped up against the entrance. There is nothing stopping Ramses from tearing it away. But he’s being cautious. There’s no telling what she’s like now.

I see a pair of talons grip one side of the door and slide it open only an inch. I see an eye peering out from the dark interior. It looks at Ramses for a few seconds before the door is quickly shoved aside.

She walks out into the light. Puabi is revealed to be a sandpiper wearing barely any clothing. She’s covered in filth and there is a large stain of dried blood running from her beak down to her stomach. The look on her face is nothing else but pure shock.

“Karlo. Is that really you? You’re so much older….” she said, tears almost welling up in her eyes.  
“Yes. And I know it’s been a very long time. But please just use my codename for now.” Ramses said.  
“It worked. You’re really here! What about the others?” she said.  
“Mavia’s with us, they’re all waiting in her mirror world.” Ramses said.  
“She’s grown up enough to come with you on jobs now!? How long has it been!?” she said.  
“About twenty four years.” Ramses said.  
“It…. It feels so much longer than that. By the gods the things done to me here…. Who is this?” she said before looking at me.  
“Edvard’s son. He was instrumental in this job.” Ramses said.  
“No…. don’t tell me you let that son of a bitch back in!” she said, her tone now replaced by seething rage.  
“Calm down. We didn’t. He happened to be the only person we could find and blackmail who also had a blessing we needed for this.” Ramses said.  
“So he…. Fine then. I won’t blame you for what your father did. Even if he is the reason I was stuck here!” Puabi said before calming down somewhat.  
“Well let’s get you home. We’ll leave for the World of Life right now.” Ramses said as he pulled out the sextant.  
“No! We can’t go there yet.” Puabi said.  
“What? Why not?” Ramses said.  
“I met someone here. Someone from the old world! They told me what happens when someone tries to escape to the World Of Life. We can’t head back yet, we need to go to the Old World first!” she said.  
“Are you sure you’re thinking straight?” Ramses said.  
“I’ll explain when we get there, if I say too much and we get caught. We’ll be in very big trouble.” She said.  
“Alright then. Arno, take the mirror and the artifact. Bring us to the Old World.” Ramses said as he hands the sextant to me while he opens the compact for Puabi to get inside.  
“How the hell am I supposed to do that? I’ve only used this thing once!” I said as he hands me the compact.  
“Figure it out. Should be a lot easier than getting here.” He said before going into the mirror.


	10. The Dead World Of Jintakull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno and the others make it to the dead world. But something is looking for Arno.

My second voyage into the godspace is unusual. I fully expected to be back in the same area I was in before. But upon pulling the scope away from my eye, I found out I was somewhere else. As if this whole process wasn’t confusing enough.

Now I’m standing in the middle of a shallow pool, one that just barely reaches above the soles of my shoes. A quick look of my surroundings shows this water expands over the horizon, if this place even has a horizon. The clouds above me are grey and covering the whole sky, I hear thunder in the distance, yet I see no rain. There is nothing around me besides water and clouds. I quickly look at the sextant, I should leave here fast.

“FIND BROWN” 

The words carved into the scope have changed. Hopefully this leads me to where I need to go. I look through the scope for a brown shape like I did last time. I find it and begin to sprint towards it.

Even with my blessing active, running through water like this still gives away my position. The sound of it would be nullified but the visible movement from the splashes and ripples are still there. Even though I don’t spot anything nearby, I don’t want to risk staying here longer than I need to. Who knows what is around here.

This water is strange though. I feel the water splashing onto my clothes and seeping into my shoes. Yet it doesn’t make any of it feel wet. The water simply falls away without a trace. Like those hydrophobic shirts I’ve seen online where the water just slides off and leaves it completely dry. 

A good while into my sprint, I’m almost there. Thankfully this path was straightforward and flat. Also there were no gods for me to avoid. But then I turn around.

Something is behind me, about three hundred feet away. A figure whose features I can’t make out. But they are gliding across the surface of the water, right towards me! Is it a god from The Congregation!? That god of interdimensional travel mentioned a while ago? Whatever it is, it’s getting closer to me!

The adrenaline begins flowing as I sprint as fast as I can. A minute later, I reach the point I need to be at. But I was moving too fast and finally slow down a few feet away. I turn around and face towards the deity who is now a mere fifty feet away, their glowing green eyes filling me with primal fear. I quickly look through the scope and deactivate my blessing.

I move the scope away to see with relief I am no longer in the godspace. But where I am now…. I’m unsure if it’s better or worse. I’m standing at the edge of a dried up forest on the edge of a dusty plain. The sun is just barely setting over this world that looks so much like my own. 

It may have been its reputation that I knew about beforehand. But the World of Penance didn’t feel anything like the World of Life, even though it was essentially a near-exact copy of it. But the Dead World of Jintakull…. Is somehow more like home. Salkadium is where life is lived, Hancheriod is made to punish the wicked, the paradise world of Massamiol is made to reward those who were kind. Jintakull is just…. There.

I snap back to reality when I remember the mirror. I reach into my pocket and open the compact. Before long, everyone is out. Apis and Zenobia are both injured, a bloody bandage wrapped around wounds on each of their arms. I guess Zenobia is who got shot before I was kidnapped. Puabi is wearing what looks like a spare set of clothes someone brought. She’s tried to make an effort to clean herself up from the looks of things, but she still looks like someone who has been living in the wilderness for years. I guess someone brought supplies to help with that?

“Okay, here we are. Standing on a world abandoned by the gods. Why did we have to come here?” Ramses said.  
“Well you said it. The gods have abandoned this place, they don’t focus their attention here. They won’t notice I’m not in hell anymore.” She said.  
“The entire reason we did this was so you could lead us again. There isn’t exactly any clients or stuff to steal here.” Xerxes said.  
“Oh but that’s where you’re wrong. That fellow from the old world I met. I had tortured him for quite a while after I met him. He told me all sorts of valuable things about this place.” She said.  
“What could possibly be valuable here? No one’s been here in millennia.” Ramses said.  
“Ramses you were always a cynic, just like your mother. The gods left this world behind. There are artifacts here, things like that tracker or that sextant!” she said.  
“There can’t be any like that. All the sextant-artifacts were confiscated by the messiahs after they transferred everyone from here. That’s not even a real one we used. It came from some ancient person able to duplicate items with their blessing.” Salom said.  
“Okay well then not like that specific one. But other artifacts are here too. Formerly kept guarded and locked away so mortal beings couldn’t use them, now no one is watching them anymore. We can take them as we please.” She said.  
“Those artifacts could sell for millions. Hot DAMN! I missed you and your ideas!” Apis said.  
“I missed you too nephew. But there is a matter we need to discuss…. What do we do about him?” She said as she looked at me.  
“What do you mean?” I said nervously.  
“Mavia told us what was going on outside. The gods have your scent or something. That thing from the Congregation was right on your tail. Could you even bring us back if we used you again?” Puabi said.  
“I don’t know! I’ve never tried to hide from gods before!” I said in my defense.  
“We’ll stay in this world for a while, hope they lose the trail and back off. Unless we have a way of hiding ourselves like he can, we need him to get home.” Ramses said.  
“May I recommend we find some shelter? It’s getting dark out and I still have a hole in my arm.” Zenobia said.  
“I second that.” Apis said.  
“Salom, can you do your thing?” Xerxes said.  
“I’ll see if this land has any secrets for us….” Salom said as the put her palms against the dirt.

Soon she claims an abandoned town is over a nearby hill. Mavia grabs her hand and leads Salom up the hill alongside us. She was right. A small village made of crude stone huts and half-buried in the dust. A short hike down and we find out the houses had been sealed up, preventing the dust from getting inside. We move the dust away from the door and Ramses kicks it down.

This house must have been sitting here for thousands of years. Yet the interior is surprisingly hospitable. Ramses decided we will stay in these houses two to a house. Save for Puabi since she still reeks like a week-old corpse. She understands and takes no offence.

I’m once again grouped with Xerxes. I’m lying on a thick blanket on the floor. Closest thing I’ll find to a bed here. Xerxes is also laying on the floor, trying to go to sleep. Meanwhile I’m staring at this ancient ceiling.

How long have I been with these people? It feels like an eternity but I know it was only Saturday when I joined them. The prison break was late that night, we left for Hancheriod soon after. I wasn’t in the godspace terribly long, but who knows how time worked there. I was in Hancheriod for a while, I can’t even remember how long that was since I was panicking the whole time. Then I went in the godspace again and now I’m here. 

I think it’s Sunday night, but I’m not on the same planet anymore. Isn’t the Dead World closer to the sun? So aren’t the days shorter? No wait, that’s orbit, that only affects years. I have no idea what the rotation speed of this planet is. Dammit, the last thing I need if I get out of here is to try and explain to the school why I missed class. 

But my train of thought is interrupted by a sound unlike I had heard before. It sounded like a distorted recording of a zipper opening that echoed across the landscape. Xerxes and I both sit up. We feel the impact of something landing outside. I reflexively activate my blessing, Xerxes does the same. We slowly open the door and step outside. And what we see is far worse than anything we had encountered so far.

A grotesque serpentine creature standing around fifty feet tall if I had to guess. Four long arms that looked like they were only skin and bones gripping the top of a dune. One pair below the head and another before where the tail starts. In-between the pairs is a section resembling a desiccated person’s ribcage, and its tail ending in what looks like a massive fleshy feather. Its reddish-brown skin reflecting in the blood-red moonlight. The length of the whole thing must have been around a hundred feet. 

At first I don’t know what it could be. But then its head turns towards the town. Then I realize what this thing is when I see the familiar grotesque face with oddly placed insectoid mandibles. The Grey Elder, in its serpentine form.

We’re both standing there speechless and frozen in fear. The symbol of terror we all were told to avoid since we were children. I know Marwha said she encountered it twice and she came out unharmed. So it being pure evil may just be an exaggeration. However, its power is no trick. All those disasters it caused, those weren’t faked. 

We’re both standing behind the wall of the house across the street. Hoping my blessing is enough to hide ourselves from it. The Grey Elder seems to shrink as it walks down the dune and towards the town. It shrinks behind a building, then it walks around the corner in its other known form. A twelve-foot tall being wearing a fleshy robe from the neck down. It walks over to the house we were just inside and opens the door. It looks around and then mutters to itself.

“I smell it, the stench of the godspace leads here. But then it vanishes…. Something strange is going on with this one. But the gods wouldn’t have asked me to find this mysterious intruder they have been detecting if it was normal. Maybe they have a teleporting blessing too? Maybe they went to the next town over….” The Grey Elder said.

It then looked towards the distance. It leaped into the air and its robe unfurled to reveal its grotesque serpentine form once again. It almost seemed to swim through the air as it vanished above the clouds. Soon, it was gone from our sight.

We both deactivate our blessings, breathing heavily from the stress and fear that brief encounter left us. The others soon come out of their homes and look towards us. They had all been hiding when it arrived. Puabi and Ramses both walk up and look around.

“What the hell was that?” Ramses said.  
“THE FUCKING GREY ELDER! It was here! It was looking for him! Tracking him down like an animal following a scent!” Xerxes said as he pointed towards me.  
“What!? No no no no no! I’d rather go back to Hancheriod than deal with that thing coming after us!” Puabi said.  
“I thought you said the gods ignored this place!” Ramses said.  
“The Grey Elder isn’t a god. I don’t know what it is, but it’s here and looking for that little shit!” Puabi said.  
“Well we have to do something about him. He’s a liability to our survival!” Xerxes said.  
“What!? You need me to get back home!” I said.  
“Gathering these artifacts could take a long time. Years in fact. We only need him when we leave.” Ramses said as the others walked over.  
“Wait, years!?” I said.  
“Couldn’t we keep him in Mavia’s mirror world?” Puabi said.  
“You can’t stay in there for more than a day at a time. He’ll be forced out if he does. Then he won’t be able to enter that specific mirror again.” Mavia said.  
“Dammit! We still might need him later on though. I don’t trust him keeping his blessing on all the time and not stealing stuff from us to escape.” Ramses said.  
“Hey, I have a plan. I’ll put him on pause and we can just come get him later.” Apis said.  
“Put me on what?” I said, understandably worried.  
“I’ll basically freeze you in place, locking your body and mind at this current point. You won’t thirst, starve, or even age. But you won’t be able to move or think either. You’ll basically be a statue.” Apis said as his hand began to glow.  
“WHAT!? No! I’m not going to let you make me a statue! What if something happens to you and I can’t be brought out of it!” I said in protest.  
“It’s painless. Also I can set it so anyone can bring you out so long as they can make contact with your body and they are a sentient being. Since no one lives on this planet anymore, it will be one of us.” Apis said.  
“Alright, that works. Pause him and we’ll leave him by some kind of landmark. At the very least, he won’t be leaving a trail for the elder to follow.” Puabi said.

I try to activate my blessing, but they’re watching me. It doesn’t work. Damn that limitation on my blessing! Almost as if he could sense what I was going to do, Xerxes grabs hold of me tight. He throws me to the ground and I see Apis touch my arm with his glowing hand.


	11. The Tower Of Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno finds out how the few remaining on Jintakull can escape the dead planet.

I can’t describe what being frozen felt like. I saw Apis touch my arm, and then it was as if someone had just edited out any memories of whatever was prior to this moment. I jolt awake like I had woken from a terrible nightmare. I’m lying on the ground in a totally different place. I look around to try and gauge where I am. Then I see a pair of dirty hooves in the sand beside me.

I look up and see a robed figure standing over me. His hand pulled back, I remember feeling something prod me when I came to. They must have touched me and brought me out of it. I quickly get to my feet and step back a few steps from the stranger. Then I get a proper look at them.

A goat of some kind wearing a frayed hooded robe that wouldn’t look out of place in a fantasy movie. In one hand is a walking stick, weathered and worn, clearly not far from breaking. On their back is a primitive rucksack along with other supplies strapped to it. This person is prepared for something.

“Are you okay?” he said in a strange accent.  
“Who are you?” I said.  
“My name is Minnram. Why were you just laying here still as a rock?” he said.  
“I wasn’t laying there, I was frozen. Someone with a blessing forced me to stay and wait for them.” I said.  
“I didn’t know anyone still lived around these parts.” He said.  
“I didn’t know anyone was still on this planet. Where the hell did you come from?” I said.  
“Used to have a farm on the coast. But then I decided to make the pilgrimage here. You’re the first person I’ve met since my wife left me.” he said.  
“Where is here?” I said.  
“The tower of passing.” He said as he pointed to the structure I now realize I’ve been standing beside.

I turn to my left and see a tower stretching into the sky. It’s made of perfectly carved marble and doesn’t have a scratch on it. No way could someone have made this, the gods themselves must have put this here. I turn back towards the goat, who isn’t showing any kind of hostility.

“Why do you want to go here?” I said.  
“Well, I’m not going in yet. I’m going to have a meal first.” He said as he took off his rucksack and rummaged through it.  
“You uh…. Wouldn’t happen to have some to spare would you?” I ask, realizing how hungry I am.  
“Oh I have plenty. Honestly it looks like I overpacked for this pilgrimage. I’ll gladly share some for a nice conversation. I haven’t had one in weeks.” He said.

I help him make a fire and cook up some fish. It’s still sunset, but I doubt it’s on the same day I arrived since I didn’t see this tower at all before now. He tells me how when the gods were bringing people over to the new world, some chose to stay behind, mostly out of mistrust for the gods. Here, people live a solitary life. Also a primitive one, the creation of the new world predates things like industry and proper metalworking.

People here are in a cycle of reincarnation just like I am, but it’s a cycle separate from the normal one. Allegedly, new souls are made in the normal cycle if there is a lack of people to reincarnate into new life. That isn’t the case here. There is a fixed amount of souls that live on this world. He tells me how he and his wife tried so hard to make a child, but I guess there weren’t any souls to spare.

He was born in a small settlement of only twenty people on the coast. He lived his life, fell in love, and did what little he could in this neglected world. Then people started to go, either through death or just travelling away. Eventually it was just him and his wife. But later on, she died of sickness and he was all alone. It was then he decided to travel here. He has a blessing that lets him preserve food for an incredibly long time, he claims the fish he brought was caught on his last fishing trip back at his old home.

He tells me this as I eat some of the cooked fish he brought. He seasoned it with something I’m sure goes by a different name back home. Honestly, it’s great for a campfire meal in the middle of nowhere. We finish our meals and we both stare at the fire.

“So Arno. Where are you from my strange friend?” he said.  
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I said.  
“You’re not from this world are you?” he said.  
“How could you tell?” I said.  
“I’ve lived fifty years and I have never seen clothes so clean or strange. You look too clean and I know there isn’t a spring to wash yourself in anywhere around here.” He said.  
“You’re perceptive.” I said.  
“So, where are you from?” he said once more.  
“The new world. Well I suppose it isn’t new anymore.” I said.  
“No kidding. What’s it like there?” he said.  
“Easily better than this place. It’s no paradise, but it may as well be if this is the only place you’ve known.” I said.  
“So it is real?” he said.  
“Yeah, I hope I get to go back.” I said.  
“Well, I’m going there myself!” he said.  
“Wait, what?” I said.  
“This tower, it’s how I can get to the new world.” He said.  
“Huh!? How!?” I said as I quickly get to my feet.  
“Well since knowing its real erased any hesitations, we might as well go now!” he said as he too stood up.

Around the side of the tower is an entrance inside. The interior is dark, too dark to see very much. Minnram goes back out and uses the fire to light a stick on fire to make a pair of torches. He hands me one and we walk inside.

We quickly see a deep pit of some kind. Minnram moves over to the wall and sees text carved into it. He mutters to himself as he reads it. I heard that while spoken language has gone relatively unchanged, written language has varied a bit since its inception. I can make out some of the words but not enough to guess what it’s saying. He reads the last bit of text and smiles.

He walks back to the pit and moves along its edge. Soon he finds a staircase leading up and towards the middle of the pit. I walk over to him and stay at the bottom. I ask him what he’s doing and he claims only one person can do it at a time.

At the top of the staircase is a round platform, only a few feet wide. He stands on it and it makes a light. Soon the inside of the tower is gradually lit up, as strange sources of light turn on starting at the top and gradually going down. I notice a strange feature hanging down from the ceiling. It almost looks like a tube ending in a tight nozzle. Minnram is looking at it with a look of satisfaction. I’m looking to see if there was anything else I missed now that the tower is lit up. Then I look into the pit.

I see piles of bones. Skeletons of what must be hundreds or even thousands are lying in the pit. All wearing the rotten tatters of whatever clothing they had. I shout to Minnram to look down. He does but his expression doesn’t change.

“Arno, it’s alright. No need to worry about that.” he said.  
“But there are tons of dead people down there! Isn’t that suspicious!?” I said.  
“You know what these towers do, right?” he said.  
“Bring you to the new world, right?” I said.  
“They bring your soul to the new world. You die here and your soul breaks away from the cycle on this world and enters the one on the new world.” He said as a light begins to travel down the tube.  
“I don’t want to kill myself! I want to go home with the life I have!” I said.  
“Then I’m sorry. I don’t know how you ended up here, but I’m afraid I can’t help you. With no one left for me, I decided to leave this world behind.” He said.  
“Please don’t leave me alone! I have no idea what this world is like, I have no one to help me find my way back home!” I plead.  
“All I can do is wish you luck. Goodbye.” He said.

The light reached the nozzle. Minnram held out his hand. A drop of some strange clear liquid fell out of the nozzle and into his hand. He let out a short gasp and went wide-eyed. Then he fell, sliding off the platform and landing in the pile of bones with a crunch. I look over the side, he is not breathing.

I back away from the pit and run outside. I don’t know how to describe what I'm feeling. A mix of utter hopelessness and existential dread most likely. I sit by the entrance with my head in my hands. Trying to make some sense of what to do next. I don’t know how long I’m sitting there. But eventually I hear a familiar voice nearby.

“So…. It’s you.” The Grey Elder said as I don’t move my head at all, trying not to look at it. “Well then…. I’ll let them handle this.”

I feel the wind as I hear them fly away. I look up and see their tail disappear around the side of the tower. I look down and I see a purple light shining from the other side of the entrance I’m sitting against the edge of. I begin to get up to look at what it is before I hear a new voice from the other side.

“No, sit there.” A voice that almost sounds grumpy said.  
“Who…. Are you?” I said as I stay seated.  
“I never thought I would have to come back to this place. But then again, we never thought what you did was possible.” The voice said.  
“I was forced into doing it!” I said.  
“Oh, I know. I also know you are a member of Sophist Diogen’s following.” The voice said.  
“How do you-” I begin to ask.  
“Not finished. Do you remember the main rule they taught?” The voice said.  
“Do not allow your life to be any more complicated than it needs to be. Every now and then you need to reevaluate your situation. Have there been opportunities to stop yourself from getting here?” the voice said.  
“I…. no. If I leave they’ll get my friend killed.” I said.  
“You’re wrong, you could have saved yourself and your friend several times before now.” the voice said.  
“How?” I said.  
“When navigating the godspace. They were all sitting in your pocket. Couldn’t you have thrown the compact aside and used the artifact to bring yourself home while also ensuring they couldn’t get back?” the voice said.  
“I…. I guess I could have.” I said.  
“Could you have used your blessing in Hancheriod and stolen the artifact from them when they didn’t know where you were?” the voice said.  
“Yeah I guess-” I began to say.  
“Could you not have turned yourself in to the god from The Congregation when they were tracking you?” the voice said.  
“Okay! I get it. I was just…. Unsure if it would work.” I said.  
“Right now, you currently stand no chance of getting back. You don’t know where they are and you can’t survive here long enough to wait for them to return. You’ll be stuck here without my help.” The voice said.  
“How will you help me?” I said.  
“Take this, anyone besides you who’s in its light will have their soul forcibly ripped from their form and stuck inside. I’ll decide what to do with them later.” The voice said as I see a strange lantern with a purple glow get nudged onto my side of the wall.  
“But I don’t know where they are.” I said.  
“I will help with that. Either get them all or get the artifact. Either one will work. Then I can bring you home.” the voice said.

I grab the lantern and inspect it. The lantern is entirely covered up save for a round hole on one side where the purple light is shining through. I put my hand in the purple glow, I feel a slight tugging towards it before quickly reeling it back. The thing looks like it’s made of cast iron, yet it’s oddly light. I grab the handle and stand up. The voice asks if I’m ready. I say I am, I have nothing to lose at this point anyway. I hear someone snap their fingers and I’m suddenly enveloped in purple light.


	12. A Bright Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno has to make things right before he can go home.

I’m brought to…. somewhere. My blessing is somehow already active. If my experiments with regular lanterns apply here, my blessing will hide me, but the lantern should look like it’s floating in mid-air. Hopefully I can sneak up on them before they start shooting.

I’m outside some kind of temple. Half-collapsed with a ruined city around it. Overgrown with palm trees that must have been there for decoration before whatever disaster hit this place. I must be around the side of the temple since I don’t see any entrances. I walk to the corner and peek around. Sure enough, I see them.

They’re all sitting around a campfire. They’ve made tents and even found a working cart someone must have left behind. It looks like some kind of animal was made to pull it, but I don’t see anything. Maybe Zenobia pulls it? She seems like the kind who would.

I have no idea how long I was frozen for. They clearly didn’t get all this overnight. How am I going to explain this to the school when I get back? No. Focus on the task at hand.

I can’t just walk up to them, they’d see the light with how dark it is. I cover the opening in the lantern with my hand, but immediately realize I’m still invisible and my hand does nothing to hide the glow. I look around for something to cover it up with.

I spot a palm frond fallen from one of the trees behind where I arrived. I run over and quietly tear the leaves off and stuff them in the hole. The makeshift plug seems to be working as well as it can. I take one last peek at the campsite before running into the ruined city.

It was too open between where I was and the camp. But if I go into the city, I can sneak up to the wagon without them spotting me. All those years of snooping around my hometown paid off once again. Only this time there are no police around to stop me.

I make my way through the rubble. Passing by ruined heaps of stone and wood. To think generations were born in this city that’s now wasting away. I wonder if this city was ruined by some disaster, or if it just decayed. I bet Marwha could tell me if she was here.

I’m careful not to knock anything over as I go through this. Sure my blessing would stop the sound of me hitting a rock. But it wouldn’t do anything against that rock being knocked down and hitting another rock. Despite my slow pace, I made it to the wagon.

I’m on one side, the campfire and the others are on the opposite side. Now I’m faced with a dilemma. Do I wait for them to go to sleep, or get them all now? If I get them while they are asleep, this whole thing could be done a lot quieter. But I imagine someone will stay up to keep watch or they’ll set traps or something. These people managed to trek across a city in Hancheriod without a scratch, I have no doubts they would be prepared. But if I were to get them now, I could possibly get them all in one move before they could react.

That voice also said if I could just get the artifact from them that would be enough. If I steal the sextant and use it on myself. I would deny them any chance of returning home alive. But they are trying to look for powerful artifacts here, who knows what those can do. I think my worries would be lessened if I knew they were all gone. Otherwise I might suddenly encounter one of them years from now.

I realize I was never told how far this soul-sucking effect of the lantern is. I remove the leaves from the hole and point it away from the wagon and hopefully out of view. I see an abrupt difference in brightness about ten feet away from the lantern. If I had to guess, that’s the range. I peek out at the wagon again. And I’m filled with either confidence or arrogance. I don’t have time to sort out which is which because I’ve already begun to move.

I sprint out towards the campfire. Using both hands to steady the lantern so it shines in front of me. Mavia, Zenobia, and Apis are looking away from the wagon. Apis turns around just in time to see the light shine onto his body. All three drop to the ground without a word. Ramses, Xerxes, Puabi, and Salom quickly jump off the stones they were sitting on and jump away. I run behind a tent as I hear them cock their guns.

“Salom! What the fuck was that!” Ramses shouts.  
“Zenobia! Apis! Mavia! Answer me!” Puabi shouts, sounding almost distraught.  
“No one said anything about creepy floating lanterns of death!” Xerxes says.

I have to get to Salom, she might find out it’s me holding the lantern. I hold my arm out and shine the light towards where I think I saw Salom go. But I don’t hear anything fall onto the ground, I missed. I hear a gunshot and a bullet hits the lantern dead-on. The force causes it to fly out of my hand and roll onto the ground.

I stay still, with all this sand around they would see my footsteps. Xerxes cautiously walks over to it, keeping his gun trained on it. The light is shining onto a rock facing away from him. I see Puabi run over to Apis. She kneels down and tries to shake him awake.

“FUCK! They’re dead!” Ramses said.  
“Please tell me you stopped that thing.” Salom said as she cautiously approached the lantern behind Xerxes.  
“I think I did? It’s not moving. Use your blessing on it and see what the hell it is.” Xerxes said.  
“Well at least the glow is facing away.” She said as she cautiously reached towards the lantern.

I make my move. I leap over to the lantern and roll it over. The light travels up her clothes and shines directly on her face, and then she collapses. Xerxes jumps away and runs behind a tent. I pick up the lantern once again.

“It needs to touch your skin to kill you!” Xerxes shouts to the others.

I quickly run around the tent to get Xerxes. But when I get in view, he has taken off his coat and thrown it at me. It lands on top of the lantern and my arm. I quickly rip it off. Xerxes and Ramses have run behind another tent. But I see Puabi is still cradling Apis, and she’s crying.

No, I have no sympathy for her. She made this group that caused so much trouble and death. I shine the light on her, she goes limp just like Apis. Then the lantern is shot out of my hand again. I’m able to leap on top of a rock so I don’t make any more footprints and give away my position. Thankfully Xerxes is out of range for his blessing to be used to see me.

“ARNO YOU SNAKE-TAILED BASTARD! I KNOW IT”S YOU!” Xerxes shouted.  
“Huh? How?” Ramses said.  
“I saw the jacket land, someone’s holding it! The shit got free somehow and came after us!” Xerxes said.  
“Dammit! I knew we should have killed him when we had the chance!” Ramses said.  
“Use your blessing! Cook him!” Xerxes said.  
“I can’t! I need to actually see what it is I’m targeting!” Ramses said.

Alright, that’s good to hear. I look down at the lantern. It’s a foot behind me and the light is shining into the ground. I look at Xerxes’s jacket, hoping maybe he had a spare gun. But I spot something better. I see the tip of the sextant, I get an idea.

Ramses picked up a gun and is pointing at the lantern, Xerxes is doing the same. They’re waiting for any sign I'm there before they shoot. They would get me the moment I took a step over there. Which is why not going there is my best option.

The jacket is next to the rock. I get down on my knees and reach down. My hand hovers over the sextant as I watch the two behind the tent. My heart is pounding, adrenaline pumping through me. I exhale and make my move.

I grab the sextant and pull it out of the pocket. Xerxes notices and tries to re-orient his aim towards it. I hold the scope up to my eye. I hear them both shout out. Then I turn off my blessing.

When I pull it away, I find myself sitting at the base of a massive crystalline structure. I’m surrounded by a blue fog, I see huge tornadoes of fog that are not moving, just spinning in place. I look up at the crystalline structure and I see a purple light. I’m at the base of Sophist Diogen’s lighthouse. Why does the godspace look completely different every time I come here?

Almost immediately the green eyed entity appears before me. A featureless white silhouette wearing a black tie. The only facial features it has are the eyes, but I can tell it’s upset. I realize that I don’t have my blessing activated this time.

“So! You’re our trespasser. Where in the four worlds did you get that thing!? We all agreed those artifacts were all gone.” It said.  
“I think it’s like a counterfeit? I dunno, I didn’t make it.” I said.  
“I don’t give to shits about who made it. I want to know what the hell you were thinking jumping across worlds like that! And is that an item from Hancheriod in your pocket!? WHY!?” it said as I suddenly remembered the knife Franco gave me is still in my pocket.  
“Easy now. He’s one of mine. It’s my duty to deal with him.” I hear the voice from the tower say behind me.

I turn around and my eyes go wide with shock. Behind me is Sophist Diogen. Draped in a grey toga and holding a lantern with a blinding purple glow. His skin was hairless and looked like cast-iron. His face has a large beard that looked like it was made of metal shavings. He stared at us with glowing purple eyes.

“The hell he is! I have rules to enforce and he broke damn near all of them!” the Congregation god said.  
“He was forced to do it. He is innocent in these crimes. He also helped me apprehend those responsible. Right?” Sophist Diogen said as he looked at me.  
“Y-yes! Two of them are still there, but everyone else is in the lantern. You gave me.” I said.  
“Good enough. Without the artifact, they won’t leave that planet again. Or could they?” Sophist Diogen said as he looked at the other god.  
“Even since the Hancheriod breakout, we made any transportation-capable blessings unable to traverse worlds or dimensions. All artifacts capable of that are gone as well. They won’t be leaving.” The other god said.  
“Good. I’ll have The Grey Elder retrieve the lantern. I’ll let you decide the punishment for those trapped inside it. The two left alone on that planet should be punishment enough for them.” Sophist Diogen said to the other god.  
“Fine. And I’ll let this one go. But I had better not see him back here again!” the other god said as they snatched the sextant from my hands.  
“Fine by me.” I said.  
“Good. I’ll send him back. I’ve sent someone to help him home.” Sophist Diogen said.

I’m engulfed by purple light. When it fades, I find myself sitting back on the barge. A surprised Gudea looking at me from a chair. I quickly stand up. Inachos comes out of his room and looks at me. The barge is exactly as it was when I left.

“What happened?” Gudea said.  
“Wait. How long was I gone?” I said.  
“About five seconds.” Gudea said.  
“Where are the others?” Inachos said.  
“Gone. I’m all that’s left. The job was a failure.” I said.

Gudea lets out a sigh. They muttered something about how they knew this would happen. Inachos walks out further, asking me if I’m serious. I say I am.

“Are we going to have a problem here?” I say to Gudea.  
“No. I accepted this could happen a while ago. You know Arno. I was good friends with your dad. I was upset he left but I knew his reason was valid. For the sake of our past friendship. Your friend’s secret is safe with me.” Gudea said.  
“Thank you. Now where’s my phone?” I said.  
“Xerxes gave it to me before you all left.” Gudea said as they pulled my phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.  
“So…. What now?” Inachos said.  
“I’ll bring us to land so Arno can go home. I’m keeping the barge. If you want to take anything then go ahead. Inachos, you’re welcome to stay.” Gudea said.  
“No. I’m done with this place. I’m leaving with Arno. I don’t know where I'm going but I’ll even go back to foster care if it means not being here.” Inachos said.  
“Fair enough.” Gudea said as they stood up to go drive the boat.


	13. The End Of A Rough Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar stranger brings Arno home.

The date listed on my phone proves it. I really was gone for only a few seconds. Did Sophist Diogen do some sort of time travel thing? Can the gods even do that? No…. I’m not going to contemplate it. This nightmare is over and I won’t question it.

My phone has about a dozen messages from Marwha on it. All voicing her concern and regret for being the reason I got dragged into this. I decide to send her a quick text. At least to ease her mind until I'm home.

“It’s all taken care of. I have a lot to say, but too much for a text. I’m on my way home.”

I send the text. It’s 6AM so she probably won’t see it until she wakes up. I see Inachos sitting across from me. He gathered up a large backpack and a duffel bag of things. He had gone not only into his room, but the rooms of others as well. I don’t blame him, they probably had better stuff than him.

“Hey Inachos....” I said.  
“Please don’t call me that anymore. My name is Troy.” He said.  
“Sorry. So Troy, what did you grab?” I said.  
“Aside from my stuff, I grabbed a tablet from Mavia’s room, some money, some really comfy blankets…. Oh I also found this.” Troy said as he reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a small picture frame.

He hands it to me and I take it from him. It’s a picture of two people. A grey-furred coyote happily hugging a younger but similar looking coyote. It’s my dad and the aunt I never met. I don’t know what feelings this would give him if I were to hand him this today. But I feel like I should give it to him anyway.

“Where did you find this?” I said.  
“My grandmother’s old room.” He said.  
“I heard my dad was responsible for her death. What did he do?” I said.  
“A job went bad. It was his fault. She got killed because of it.” Gudea said as they entered the room.  
“Are we at land?” I said.  
“Yes. And someone is there waiting for you.” Gudea said as they sat down with a freshly opened bottle of beer.

Troy and I look at each other, wondering who it is. We both get up and walk out. We’re parked along a vacant stretch of beach somewhere I don’t recognize. Standing on the shore and leaning against a car is a familiar woman. The marsupial lion lady I encountered in the prison.

We walk over to her. She smiles at us. Her prison uniform changed out for a casual t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sandals. Sophist Diogen said he was sending someone to help me. Is this who he sent?

“Hey Arno. Hey Troy. I’m here to bring you home.” she said.  
“No. What the hell are you? I’m not going any further without some kind of explanation. I’ve put up with too much lately.” I said as I stopped moving.  
“Just someone who works for one of the big guys upstairs. You did him a favor by freeing me and getting those shits with you taken care of.” she said.  
“But can I trust you?” I said.  
“Fine. Since you freed me from prison, I officially owe you one. Now can I drive you two home or do you want to hitchhike?” she said.  
“Fine.” I said, sensing I'm not going to get a better answer out of her.

Her car is a simple red sedan. The paint is chipping and it’s covered in scratches. This thing is old yet the engine doesn’t sound like it. I’m sitting in the back seat. Troy is sitting up front. I notice her drum is back here with me.

She drives out to a highway. I know this road, we’re not far from Crocus. I feel the knife in my pocket again. I pull it out and hold it gently in my hand. I’m holding a knife from hell itself. I ask our strange driver if it’s okay for me to have this. She says it’s fine, but I should disinfect it first.

I look down at my clothes. Not a speck of grime or dust on them. Did Sophist Diogen clean my clothes? I roll up a sleeve and sniff my arm. Still reeks of sweat, a shower sounds good right now.

“So Troy. Got any plans?” she said.  
“No. And how did you know my name earlier?” he said.  
“Lucky guess. But do you have any plans?” she said again.  
“Well. Nothing planned out really.” He said.  
“Good. Cause I know of a good place you could go. There’s a family some distance from here that would love to adopt you.” She said.  
“Why are you helping me? I get why you are helping Arno since he helped your god and all. But why me?” he said.  
“Sophist Diogen wants all this taken care of. I know Arno won’t do anything with what he learned. Gudea is content living on the barge the rest of his life. But you, I know I need to give you something to stay quiet. Even though your involvement was minimal, you still know plenty.” She said.  
“So you’re bribing me to stay quiet about how they were able to break into Hancheriod?” he said.  
“Pretty much. Is giving you a family good enough?” she said.  
“I’d like to test it for myself.” He said.  
“Fair enough.” She said.

We soon arrive in Crocus. I get a text from Marwha saying she’s asking where I am. I say I’m on my way to the beach. I owe her an explanation and I’d rather do it in private. She parks the car by the boardwalk. I thank her and say goodbye to them both. I step out and see a lyrebird walking up to me, I notice he has a banjo strapped to his back.

“Thanks for warming my seat for me.” he says before getting into the car.  
“Who is this?” I said.  
“Just a friend I’m picking up. Goodbye Arno.” The marsupial lion said as she reversed out of the parking space and drove away.

I walk over to the beach and see Marwha by the entrance. She sees me and runs straight over. She looks worried. I can tell she didn’t even get fully dressed as under her academy coat I see her pajamas poking out. I give her a smile to say everything is alright.

“Arno. What happened? What did they make you do?” She said, clearly distressed.  
“Well first I’ll say you’re safe. I…. did some pretty strange things. But in the end, I’m the only one who came out of it okay.” I said.  
“Are you okay though? You look like a mess. Smell like one too.” She said.  
“Alright. Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you everything. After that, I’m going to spend the rest of the day in bed because I am at my limit after what happened these past few days.” I said.  
“But you were only gone for twelve hours?” she said.  
“Like I said. I’ve done some strange stuff lately.” I said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes part 2 of Satvius Academy. Thank you for reading!


End file.
